Checkmate
by Bronze Cat
Summary: It is the Golden Age of Narnia. Long oppressed by the Witch's magic, the Governor of the Lone Islands pushes his daughter into the path of the High King. If a marriage between the two can be orchestrated, he can seek the independence he so desperately craves. Yet the High King is not the one who turns her head... **Formerly called "A Queen In All But Name"**
1. Checkmate

**AN: As of 11th March 2013, the first three chapters have been slightly rewritten and the title changed from _A Queen In All But Name_ to _Checkmate_.**

* * *

Cair Paravel was strangely quiet. Although, it wasn't quiet due to a lack of people or activity. Everyone was waiting. Waiting for the outcome of one event. Click.

Mr Tumnus stood upon the terrace, his hooves tapping a nervous little rhythm on the tiles. He could hear the small sounds coming from the chamber behind him. No-one else was daring to come near this place. They were too fearful. They preferred to wait for someone else to bring them the news they were waiting for.

Another click from inside the chamber. And a small grunt of annoyance.

"My lady, this is foolish. Let us cease this game and discuss the fate of your country," a deep, rich voice said. Click.

"Hmm, I don't think so. After all, what are our options? Let you invade and kill us all? Or try to fight against you while you kill us all?" his opponent replied.

"You Narnians think little of us Telmarines," he replied darkly. Click.

"I am not a Narnian. I am an Islander. There is all the difference in the world." Click.

"Is that so? The Narnians do not think so."

She laughed carelessly and Tumnus turned his head in shock. It had been so long since he had heard her laugh. She had vanished inside herself on that fateful day. He had been shocked when she had somehow found herself and come forward to help them. They would have been very proud of her. If they were still here...

Click.

"They may think that but I am an Islander. I was born there; I grew up there. And now, I suppose I will die there. Unless my fiancé returns."

That last sentence sounded so forlorn. Tumnus shut his eyes. So, she was still in pain. He had thought as much. He had seen how the forced smile on her face had disappeared as soon as she thought no-one was watching her. Click.

"And the chances of that are..?"

"I- I do not know."

Click.

"They look to you as Queen."

"I am as much their Queen as I am a Narnian," she replied crossly. Click.

That made his heart sink. She was supposed to be both. By now she was supposed to be married. By now Narnia could have had its first heir in the making. But no. It wasn't fair.

Click.

"_I _could make you a Queen. The Queen of two countries, Narnia and Telmar. Would that please you?"

Tumnus gave a small gasp. So that was his plan. That was why he had agreed to her proposition.

"No."

"You are very beautiful. It would be a shame for that beauty to wither without being passed onto further generations."

"No. There is only one man I will marry."

Tumnus relaxed. He felt guilty to have doubted her. Click. He hoped her plan would work. There could have been other plans if they had more time. She shouldn't have to endanger herself like this.

They did not speak again; the only sounds coming from the chamber were the steady clicks.

Eventually he her one of their voices again. They said a single word; their voice overflowing with triumph.

"Checkmate."


	2. Ten Years Ago

**A short note on ages although they will be aging-  
Peter - 21  
Susan - 20  
Edmund - ****18  
Lucy - 14**  
**Haidee - 16**  
**Anya - 12**

* * *

Peter held the telescope up to his eye.

"The Lone Islands," he said.

"Aye, your majesty," the Captain of the _Splendour Hyaline_ said.

"And, you say that they are ours?" Edmund said, accepting the telescope from his brother. The faun paused.

"By right, the High King is Emperor of the Lone Islands. Whether that still holds true is a different matter. They sent no soldiers to aid in the cleansing of Narnia," he said slowly.

Peter and Edmund exchanged a look.

"Maybe we should have a small scouting expedition before we land. Find out if we are to be welcomed with a banquet or an army," Edmund suggested. Peter nodded.

"Prepare a boat. Ed and I will scull over to the Islands when we get closer and see what the situation is like," he said.

"Isn't that a bit dangerous?" Susan said from behind them. She was looking at a map of the Lone Islands with Lucy. "Where are you even going to go?" she asked. "The main Island is Doorn but according to Mr Tumnus there is a lot of houses on Avra."

"I think if their majesties stay in their boat then no harm will come to them," Tumnus said from his seat next to Lucy.

"But surely they will stick out? They are Sons of Adam; you have to leave Narnia to find others," Lucy pointed out but her old friend shook his head.

"When the Witch conquered Narnia, most of the humans escaped to Archenland but it was said that a few took to the sea and sailed to join their kin on the Islands. The Witch always feared the sea, as Aslan came from beyond it, so she let them endure. They were heavily oppressed by her magic of course, but they were there. Peter and Edmund won't look out of place," he explained.

The four Pevensies looked once more at the Islands.

"Other humans," Lucy said wistfully. "Oh, I do hope they are friendly. It would be awful to have to fight against our own kind.

* * *

Not far away, a young girl was lying in the Island sun. Her name was Haidee and she was doing what she did best; hiding. She had come out to one of her two favourite places in Doorn to get away from Papa. Apparently the Kings and Queens of Narnia were finally coming to visit, even though it had been five years since they took the throne, and he was more flustered than she had ever seen him.

More often than not, Haidee had caught Papa staring at her thoughtfully. It was true that she had grown into a young beauty, certainly more beautiful than her younger sister, Anya. She wondered if Papa had started to receive suitors for her. She was slightly too young for marriage but not too young for a betrothal.

The rock she was lying on was the furthest and biggest in a line of rocks that went out into the bay between the three Islands. She would never have dared to come out here in winter. The rock surface would have been as slippery as ice and the water death if she fell. In summer, she had no problems with jumping from one rock to the next and if she misjudged a leap and landed in the water then she merely clambered onto the next rock.

Today she had jumped across with no problems and now she lay stretched out in the sun like a cat. Both her mind and her body were at peace and slowly she felt herself slip into the clutch of sleep.

Next thing she knew, she was tumbling down the rock and into the bay. The sudden shock made her open her mouth and she inhaled a lungful of water. Disorientated, she thrashed about and tried in vain to reach the surface. Suddenly a pair of arms closed around her and she was hauled upwards and into a boat. She screamed and slapped at whoever was holding her and they released her quickly.

"Get away from me, don't touch me!" she yelled and shuffled backwards along the bottom of the boat.

"Calm down, we were only trying to prevent you from drowning. You shouldn't be out on those rocks if you can't swim," her rescuer said. She parted the thick auburn curtain of wet hair that hung over her face and snapped, "I can swim fine!"

There were two of them, both young men. Even though they didn't share hair or eye colour, the elder having sandy-brown and blue whilst the younger dark brown for both, they were clearly brothers. And they were grinning at her in a most irritating fashion. She looked down and then quickly crossed her arms over herself. As it was the height of Island summer, she had only been dressed in a pair of trousers and a thin linen shirt and both were now completely soaked through.

"Are you alright, miss?" the elder asked. He too was soaking wet but she felt no gratitude towards him for the rescue.

"Miss? _Miss?_" she shrieked, her voice climbing several octaves. "Don't you know who I am, who my father is?"

"No. Should we?" her rescuer replied smoothly.

"Do you know who we are?" his brother added.

Her face reddened. "No, why should I?" she spat.

"There you go. Now let's stop or we will just end up running round in circles of whether or not we know each other," he said with that annoying grin again.

They sat in the boat, her throwing daggers at them from the prow and them exchanging looks and grins of increasing irritation.

"So, have you heard about the High Kings and Queens coming?" her rescuer asked eventually. She snorted.

"Of course! Papa hasn't stopped worrying and fussing since the message arrived. The High King is probably going to be some spotty, leering youth with an oversized crown on his head and _I'm _the one who is going to have to dance with him while Anya gets the other one, who will probably be the better looking of the two because that is the way the world works and-"

She looked up at the position of the sun in the sky and swore so harshly that the grins were momentarily replaced with shock on the boys' faces.

"I have to go," she said standing up.

"We'll row you back to the shore if you want," the younger one offered.

"I'll swim, if that's alright," she said imperiously. She placed a foot on the side of the boat, ready to dive beautifully into the water as she always did, but the boat rocked dangerously as she pushed off. She hit the water; less of a dive, more of a belly-flop.

Peter and Edmund watched the girl swim quickly towards the shore and clamber out.

"Beauty is wasted on people like her," Edmund muttered.

Peter grinned and took up position by the oars again.

"Do I have spots?" he asked, deliberately leering creepily at his younger brother. Edmund laughed.

"All over your face! King Peter the Spotty is what we call you in Cair Paravel behind your back," he laughed as he lay back in the boat. "My own face is never so pock-marked which is why so many maidens weep in our halls. They see you, the eligible High King so disfigured, and then they lay eyes on me and see my fair features and despair for they can never love me."

Peter laughed with him. "Remind me to make an appointment with the jeweller to have my crown made smaller when we get home as well."

"Why? Then it won't fit round your fat head!"

* * *

Haidee ran back through the woods of Doorn. _Stupid boys, _she thought furiously. She scaled the wall of the Governor's palace and dropped down into the garden with ease. Picking an apple in the orchard to ease the first grumbles of hunger, she made her way through the halls of the palace. She had nearly reached her bedroom and safety when a voice shrieked at her down the corridor.

"Haidee! Where have you been!"

She turned and groaned internally when she saw the one person she didn't want to see bearing down on her.

"Been out swimming again, I see!" Penelope sniffed, fingering one of Haidee's wet locks with disdain. "You girls! You are always off on some part of the Islands and your sister is ruining her eyes in the library. Now, get inside! We only have a few short hours before the High Kings and Queens arrive and you stink of the Sea! Just one more thing to be fixed!"

Haidee was pushed into her bedroom and forced to bathe. Her hair was washed and brutally combed by Penelope before being done up in rags. Then her and Anya, hair similarly bound, were taken to the staircase in the foyer where they would have to make their entrance that evening. Penelope placed books on their heads and they had to descend the staircase gracefully. Anya always struggled but Haidee managed fine. As she moved carefully one from step to the next, her smile fixed glassily in place, her mind moved to the two strange young men in the boat. Maybe she acted a bit rashly. If she could slip away tomorrow, she would see if she could find them and apologise.

It wouldn't do for the Governor's daughter to conduct herself in such a manner.


	3. The Kings and Queens

"You look lovely, sister," Anya said from the doorway. Haidee turned and smiled at her younger sister. She crossed the room and smoothed back some of Anya's errant curls and then bent down and sorted the hem of her blue dress.

"There, now you look even more beautiful than me," she smiled. Anya blushed but Haidee could tell she was pleased.

"Is this new?" Anya asked, tugging on one of Haidee's forest green sleeves. Haidee nodded.

"Papa wants me to make a good impression for the High Kings and Queens," she said.

Papa had taken her aside and told her to be extra welcoming to the High King. Sit by him at dinner, dance with him, take him on walks around Doorn. She reluctantly agreed and in return he had given her this new dress.

She paused by the looking-glass on her way out. The dress did fit her well, nipping her in at the waist and making her usually boyish figure more womanly. It was a favourite jibe of Penelope that, at twelve, Anya had a better figure than Haidee at sixteen.

"Haidee! They are here!" Anya called from out in the hall. Right, now she was nervous. Her hands started to tremble so she clasped them in front of her in an attempt to stop. She smiled into the mirror and then left her room.

Anya had gone and as Haidee approached the staircase, she could hear Papa singing Anya's praises. She paused and took a small breath before stepping out onto the first step.

She barely registered Papa's booming voice or Anya standing with the two Queens. Her eyes were just fixed on the two Kings. They were both tall and handsome in their velvet clothes and the gold and silver crowns. However, that was not why she was staring at them as she slowly made her way from one step to the next. She was staring because they were the two boys from the boat.

She felt her smile fade a bit and quickly refreshed it.

"May I present my eldest daughter, Haidee," Papa was saying. She quickly took his offered hand and swept into a graceful curtsey. "Haidee, this is High King Peter and King Edmund," Papa told her.

Dear sweet Island grasses, she had called the High King a spotty idiot to his face. _Please don't say anything, please don't say anything._

She smiled prettily, praying that he would not recognise her in her finery.

King Edmund nudged his brother surreptitiously in the side. As they both inclined their heads towards her, identical grins on their faces, her heart sunk. Of course they recognised her. _Please don't say anything._

She was staring at them now. Papa raised his eyebrows at her from behind them. She shook herself.

"Welcome to the Lone Islands, your majesties. I trust you had a smooth journey to our fair home," she trilled.

"Yes, we did. We are looking forward to our time here," High King Peter said. Papa clasped a hand on Haidee's shoulder.

"Nobody knows these Islands like my Haidee! If you want a tour then I am sure she will be only too happy to take you," he boomed.

"Papa, they aren't interested in cliffs and woods," she said quickly.

"No, we have plenty of both in Narnia," King Edmund agreed. "We do like swimming though. Do you know any good rocks we could dive off?"

If he was any other boy, she would have slapped that smug grin off his face right there and then.

* * *

Edmund had to give Haidee some credit. Her smile was still fixed in place, even if it was slightly forced now.

"You don't want to go swimming, your Majesty," she said. "People might think you are drowning when you really aren't."

"I'm a very strong swimmer," he countered.

"Then you shall be fine," she replied sweetly. Cedric was looking back and forth between the two of them and the hidden laughter on Peter's face.

"Master, your majesties, dinner is served," a footman announced.

"Anya, show the Kings and Queens to the dining hall please. I want a word with your sister," Cedric said. The other daughter, the one standing by Susan and Lucy, stepped to one side and gestured through an arch.

The palace reminded Edmund of a Roman villa. It was mainly on one level situated around a central courtyard, the upper level which the Governor's daughters had appeared from was given over to bedrooms. Summer on the Islands was very hot and humid if the day was anything to go by and the house had been built to reflect this. The windows were all open, glass-less arches; the doors almost non-existent, just archways between each room. In summer, it was glorious as the smallest breeze was allowed to flow through a whole set of rooms unchecked. The smells of the house were incredible too. The Pevensies had seen extensive gardens on their journey to the palace and the heavy aromas of a hundred different flowers wafted through the hallways.

It must have been horrible in the Long Winter.

With all these open doorways and windows, the house would have been freezing. Heavy curtains had been affixed to each doorway but they would have done little in the event of a winter storm.

"I guess we know who the favourite daughter is," Peter muttered to his younger brother as they followed Anya through into a dining chamber. They cast their gaze over Anya showing their sisters to their seats for the evening. Her face was nearly identical to Haidee's, from the shape to the blue eyes but her dark chestnut brown hair hung loosely down her back compared to her sister's elegant coiffure. Anya's dress was also a lot simpler than Haidee's.

Edmund turned to look at Haidee and hesitated. "Maybe she isn't the favourite," he said.

Cedric was gripping his elder daughter's upper arm and hissing in her ear. Her body was completely angled away from him, her eyes fixed on the terracotta tiles of the courtyard. With his spare hand, he cupped his daughter's chin and brought it round so her eyes met his. He said something to her and raised his eyebrows at her. She bit her lip and then nodded. His harsh expression softened and he let her go.

The instant she turned towards them, that empty smile was back in place.

"Is everything alright?" Peter asked as she drew level with them. The smile became slightly more forced.

"Of course," she said through gritted teeth. "Anya! You are leaving our guests behind!" she playfully called and hurried past them to join her sister.


	4. A Tour of the Islands

**Apologies that this has taken so long for me to finish. Real life got a bit difficult for me and when I returned to this story, I didn't like particular aspects. As of 11/03/2013 I changed the title from _A Queen In All But Name _to _Checkmate _and I rewrote Chapter 1 completely and parts of Chapters 2 and 3.**

* * *

Edmund and Lucy were in one of the many gardens surrounding the Palace.

"So, what do you think of Cedric and his daughters?" Lucy asked. Edmund groaned to himself.

"Cedric is a mystery. It is impossible to know what he is thinking. Pete and I are going to have our work cut out to find out what he wants. And those daughters... Anya I have seen neither hide nor hair of since we arrived and Haidee spends her time half-heartedly fawning after Pete."

"She's very beautiful," Lucy said.

"She's too poised. The lovely thing about you, Lu, is your wild streak. Haidee is too like Susan, she spends all of her time trying to be a lady."

He stood and stretched. "I should be getting back," he said.

"Have fun," Lucy said jovially. He chuckled and then walked off back in the direction of the house. Lucy stayed where she was under the tree. She loved these heavily perfumed gardens and the beautiful house with its many alcoves and mosaics. So this is what Old Narnia must have looked like, she thought as she looked around. From before the Long Winter. From before the Witch. It was lovely that this small piece of history was still here.

She jumped as she heard a crunch. With surprise, she saw Haidee and her eyes widened further as she saw how the Governor's daughter was dressed.

Haidee was wearing a grubby shirt and trousers; her hair pulled into a rough braid and a half-eaten apple in her hand. She looked around carefully and, clearly having not seen Lucy, leapt at the outer wall of the gardens and vaulted straight over with practised ease.

Lucy scrambled to her feet and followed her. "Where are you going?" she called as she clambered up onto the wall.

Haidee skidded to a halt on the path running alongside the wall. She turned, the apple in her mouth and a guilty expression on her face.

"Forgive me, your majesty. I was just going to go for a walk," she said, taking the apple out of her mouth.

"Oh, good! Would you take me on a tour of the Islands please?" Lucy answered, jumping down to join her on the path. She looked a bit baffled but nodded her head.

"Of course, your majesty."

"Please, call me Lucy."

The two young women began to walk down the path. It hugged the wall closely and then wound through a wood and emerged onto a cliff-top that looked over the bay.

"That is Narrowhaven, the Islands' capital," Haidee said, pointing at the terracotta roofs further along the coast. Lucy shielded her eyes against the sun as Haidee pointed out more things.

"This Island is Doorn," she was saying. "It is the biggest and the majority of the Islanders live here. The small Island over there is Avra, where I was born. Many of the richer Islanders have an estate there. Anya and I like to swim over every few months to see our cousins. The big long Island over there is Felimath. No-one really lives there except for some shepherds; it's mainly given over to grazing."

"It's beautiful," Lucy said and Haidee smiled, the first genuine smile the young Queen had seen from anyone in the Lone Islands.

"I think we should avoid going into Narrowhaven today. Today is the Fish Market and it is smelly and cramped and we would likely be swamped by Islanders asking for your favour. We could go tomorrow though, when the ordinary market is open for business," Haidee said thoughtfully.

"Yes, we should. Susan would like that," she agreed and took a few steps along the cliff edge, her eyes drinking in the view. "What was it like here in the Long Winter?"

"Cold. And wild. The waves in the bay would crash against the harbour and smash the boats to pieces and the wind would whip you raw or blow you off these cliff-tops," Haidee sighed. "And we couldn't use half the rooms in the house. Anya and I used to have to share a bed, for warmth more than company."

She turned and began to walk back up the path. "Come on. We should get back to the house before you are missed. I am always disappearing but Papa might get a bit more anxious about a missing Queen."

"Can we see more of the house?" Lucy asked. "I wanted to go exploring but I didn't want to pry."

"Of course we can! Let me change in case Papa sees me and then I'll show you around!"

* * *

Haidee led Lucy through the many rooms and halls of the house. She only skipped one room, acting as if it didn't exist, but showed off the others quite happily. Lucy now knew why Edmund had thought it to be like a Roman villa. She smiled as she was shown the baths with their hot and cold plunges, one for the women and one for the men which they obviously did not go in.

"And this is the library," Haidee said as she swept the heavy curtain aside for Lucy to enter. Anya blinked rapidly as they entered and got to her feet quickly, sending scrolls tumbling to the floor. She bobbed a curtsey and gathered the spilt scrolls, blushing furiously under her sister's disapproving eye. Lucy had barely noticed; she was moving through the library with wonder.

Three walls were covered in shelves full of books and scrolls. The fourth, the one facing East, was one large floor-to-ceiling window. It was completely glass-less like the others in the house and, as she approached it, Lucy realised it dropped away down another cliff. The floor was covered in low tables and divans to read at and sturdy-looking oil lamps provided light if needed. She crossed to a bookcase and stroked the spine of _Rare Flora of Avra. _

"This is one of the rooms we couldn't use because of the Long Winter. The waves used to wash against the cliff so high that they would just come straight in. We kept the books in other rooms and when your Majesties broke the Winter, we were able to reclaim the room," Haidee said as she sat on a table.

"Why does it face East?" Lucy asked. Haidee shrugged but her sister nervously piped up, her eyes flicking between her sister and the Queen.

"Aslan always appears from the East. The library faces East so when He next comes to us, we can greet Him with honesty and without hiding the extent of our knowledge from Him."

"I didn't know that," Haidee said, almost accusingly.

"You should try spending more time in here instead of wandering the Islands then," Anya replied drily. Her sister's eyes narrowed, an expression Anya returned with venom. They were close; but they fought like any other siblings and this enforced nicety Papa had thrust upon them while the Kings and Queens were here had them spoiling for a fight. They were good girls however; they would wait until the household had gone to bed before laying into each other.

"You have a beautiful home, Haidee," Lucy said as they walked back through the gardens.

"Thank you. I hope that I can one day see yours," Haidee replied politely. Lucy sighed and linked her arm through Haidee's.

"You can drop the stiff act," she said. "Just because I'm your Queen doesn't mean I can't be your friend too."

Haidee stopped dead in her tracks and Lucy turned in surprise. Haidee's face was slightly red and very confused and Lucy wondered if she had accidently broken some sort of Island protocol.

"A friend?" Haidee said slowly and a bit shakily. "I- I- I'd like that. I've never had a proper friend before."

* * *

**Please leave me a review to tell me what you think of the new title and the slight rewrite. It would be much appreciated. :)**


	5. Night Terrors

The Pevensies chose not to breakfast with Cedric and his daughters but to eat on a small veranda adjacent to Susan's bedroom. It was an excellent place to discuss the Governor without being overheard.

"We don't trust him," Peter told his sisters. "He's hiding something. Oh, he's very proud to show us the granary inventories and the merchant rosters and tell us how prosperous the Islands are but there is something that he is not saying."

"I really doubt the girls know anything. They both seem to actively avoid their father and the servants," Lucy said. "I can speak to Haidee though. She's taking Susan and me to the market later today."

Susan arched an eyebrow. "Is she? How nice for you to tell me," she said drily.

"So if you two work on the girls then we shall stay with Cedric," Edmund said.

* * *

"And what are your plans for today, girls?" Cedric asked. Anya and Haidee looked at each other, silently fighting over who would answer first. Haidee won.

"I'm going to get started on some of the old records from Archenland. I think there are a few accounts of the beginning of the Long Winter in them," Anya said. Cedric's mouth tightened.

"I was going to take the Queens to the market. Lucy in particular wanted to meet the Islanders," Haidee said. Cedric rubbed a hand across his face. "Would you rather we did something else?" Haidee asked.

"Yes. I wish you would sit in with me and the Kings while your sister is the one to charm the Queens. I need your pretty face; it won't have any effect upon the Queens' as much as Anya's clever speech will."

Neither sister rebuked this. They were both used to being labelled this way. They also both had no intention of following their Papa's wishes. Traipsing down to the crowded market and back was a much of a horror for Anya as sitting in a stuffy room listening to Papa discuss treaties with _them _was to Haidee.

They left together and exchanged a look in the corridor outside.

"Have fun in the library," Haidee said.

"Buy me a new quill in the market, please," Anya replied and they went their separate ways.

* * *

The market was busy. Lucy flitted from stall to stall; smelling flowers, tasting food, running her fingers across silks and cottons. Haidee and Susan followed at a more sedate pace.

"It's peculiar being around so many humans after all this time," Susan confessed, smiling at a little wide-eyed child.

"I've never known anything else. I've never been off these Islands," Haidee said. "I would love to visit the mainland one day and see all the talking animals and fauns and centaurs."

Susan couldn't help but notice that while the Islanders hurried out of the way of herself and Lucy, they barely noticed Haidee. She clearly spent so much time around them that they were used to her presence and felt no need to make any allowances.

"Pretty flowers! Pretty flowers for pretty girls!" a trader called, waving a bouquet in their direction, and Lucy rushed over to stare at his blooms. He offered her one with a winning smile.

"It is a wonderful life you have here," Susan said, smiling as Lucy took the flower and tucked it behind her ear.

"Yes. Papa is never happy though. He always wants something more," Haidee said. Susan looked at her curiously.

"Such as?" she asked. Haidee shrugged.

"I don't know. He never discusses things like that with me."

Susan folded her arms and regarded the other girl carefully as she moved forward to join Lucy. Was she hiding something or did she genuinely not know?

* * *

The three walked slowly back up the hill to the Governor's house. Haidee excused herself from the Queens and wound her way through the gardens. She was a bit unsure of Susan's persistent questioning in the market place. Papa never discussed his thoughts and plans with his daughters. She sighed and turned onto a small path that led down to the cliffs.

This place was her favourite in the Islands. A small area had been paved at the end of the path and a stone wall constructed to prevent a tumble off the cliff edge. The point overlooked the whole of the bay and into the Sea beyond and ever since she was little, Haidee liked to come down here to watch the boats come in and out of the harbour. During the Winter, she sat on a low stone bench but now in the Summer she would venture onto the wall. Trees and hanging vines of flowers sheltered it from the wind and the worst of the weather. It was a place of pure peace and tranquillity and it was hers.

Except someone else was here today.

She stopped at the end of the path and glared at Edmund. He was leaning against the wall and gazing out at the view. As her boots rapped on the flagstones, he looked over his shoulder at her.

"This is some view," he said. Her hands started to shake.

"What are you doing down here? This is my special place. No-one is allowed here without my permission!" she said through gritted teeth.

"Apologies, I didn't see the sign saying _Haidee's Special Place _on the way down," he replied mockingly.

"Go away. I don't like other people to be here," she snarled.

"I'm sorry that I offended you," he said as he started to walk up the path, "but there is really no reason to act so childish."

"I'm not childish!" she yelled after him before climbing on the wall and hugging her knees to her chest. Why was he so irritating?

* * *

She ignored him at dinner, chatting animatedly with High King Peter instead and earning approving looks from Papa. Retiring early, she curled up under her sheets and seethed with anger. It was her place and only hers.

She didn't know when she fell asleep but she was awoken by a strange cry. She sat up in bed and listened carefully. There it was again. Pulling her robe over her night-gown, she crept out into the hall and along towards the guest quarters. The strange cries were coming from the bedroom closest to hers, the one that had been given to King Edmund.

She frowned and pushed open the door carefully.

The bedclothes were twisted in a knot and thrown on the floor. Edmund himself was rolling back and forth on the bed, his face twisted in agony. He cried out again and was still. She tip-toed closer to the bed and peered at him. His breathing was still rapid and his brow furrowed but at least he wasn't screaming any more. Why couldn't his siblings hear him? She wondered if she should fetch Lucy. She seemed to be the closest to him.

She gasped as he suddenly leapt off the bed at her. Caught off guard, he pinned her down on the bed with his full weight, a murderous expression on his face and his sword in his hand.

* * *

"Leave me alone!" he shouted.

She tutted. "Oh Edmund, Edmund, Edmund. Do you really think you can get rid of me that easily? Do your brother and sisters know about our little nightly chats?"

She leaned in close to him, so close that her presence caused ice crystals to form in his breath. "No matter how far you run, I will always be with you. You can't escape me."

He leapt on her, his sword drawn. She smiled coldly as he pinned her down. "We defeated you in real life, I can defeat you here," he snarled.

"Then do it," she taunted and turned her head so her neck was clear. He raised his sword and then paused. Since when did the Witch have auburn hair?

He blinked a few times and the Witch disappeared. With horror, he realised he was pinning Haidee down. Her head was turned away from him; her eyes squeezed tight and small whimpers escaping from her throat.

His sword fell to the floor with a clatter and he let her go. She scrambled away from him quickly but paused to watch him. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, trembling violently, with his hands pressed to the side of his head. She stretched out a tentative hand to him.

"Don't touch me!" he growled and she snatched the hand back.

"I should leave before someone finds me in here," she said quietly and scurried for the door.

"I'm sorry," he said. She glanced over her shoulder. He was still trembling violently and his eyes seemed impossibly large. She didn't want to leave him in this state.

"Shall I get Lucy?" she asked. He shook his head quickly.

"No, no! Please don't tell them!" he stuttered and then fell silent. "I'm sorry," he said again.

His fingers twisted through his hair as the door closed behind her. _Idiot, idiot, idiot!_

She had looked terrified.

He had never seen anyone look quite so scared of him before.


	6. A Tentative Agreement

"Are you alright, Ed?" Peter asked. They were lolling on divans in one of the many alcoves of the house while they waited for Cedric to appear.

"Bad night's sleep," Edmund replied, "and I'm getting irritated with Cedric's convolutions."

The Governor had recently changed tack and was deliberately refusing to answer any questions they asked, instead bombarding them with exactly the same information they had already heard. He was also very keen to know if his daughters had been attentive hostesses. Not wanting to get the girls in trouble, the Kings had been deliberately vague.

And here came their gracious host now.

"Where is that dratted girl!" Cedric was barking. He strode through room after room, Anya following behind with a bored expression. "Have you seen my useless eldest?" he snapped at Edmund and Peter. They exchanged a look and then shook their heads. Cedric growled and blundered off into the next set of rooms.

Anya rolled her eyes. "He's never going to find her."

"Why not?" Peter asked.

"Well, when I saw her this morning, she looked a bit upset. And when Haidee is upset or frustrated or really feeling any strong emotion then she goes and hides. We could tear down the buildings and burn all the gardens and we still wouldn't be able to find her. She knows the Islands too well," she replied. "I'm too obvious; if I'm upset then I go to the library. That's my special place. The Lion only knows where she goes."

Edmund kept his face impassive even as his gut twisted with guilt. Her terrified face from the previous night was burned onto his mind's eye. A thought occurred to him. _Her special place? _Yes, he knew where she could be hiding.

It was much more difficult to find the path today than it had been before. He had been wandering aimlessly through the gardens when he had happened upon it. Now that he was actually trying to find it, it was almost impossible. Eventually he found where a path seemed to vanish amongst some trees and vines. He followed it, brushing off the vines snagging at his clothes. As it began to slant down and he heard the first crash of the waves against the rocks, he knew he was in the right place.

He slipped on a loose stone and staggered down the last few feet. Haidee looked around in shock. She was once again sitting on the wall, a piece of parchment on her lap.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Everyone is looking for you, you know," he replied. She shrugged and went back to the parchment. With a piece of charcoal, she began to shade something lightly.

"You better go tell them where I am then," she said coldly. He watched her and then moved forward to try to see what she was drawing. She flipped it up against her chest before he get a look.

"I'm sorry about last night," he said, sitting on the wall at her feet. She didn't react. "Why are you hiding?" he asked. Her eyes flicked up to his face and he resisted the urge to shuffle up the wall away from her in her icy glare.

"I'm not hiding," she said through gritted teeth. "I'm thinking."

He raised an eyebrow and she slammed the parchment down on the wall between them.

"Look, I know I'm not as smart as Anya but I'm not stupid!" she snapped. "You scared me last night, that is true, but it was nothing compared to whatever you were dreaming about!"

His face blanched and he looked over his shoulder at the bay.

"I'm curious as to what frightened you so much that you would not want to tell your siblings," she continued. He looked back at her. There was nothing guarded or sly about her face; just simple open curiosity and the smallest hint of concern. Was it possible that she didn't know about him and the Witch?

"Do you know how we took the crown?" he asked.

"Not really. We woke up one morning and the snow and ice had melted. Some fat, stuffy dove arrived and told Papa that your Majesties had overthrown the Qu- the Witch and that was sort of it," she said. He relaxed. She didn't know about what he had done.

"You nearly called her the Queen," he said accusingly. She blushed.

"It's difficult. I grew up calling her the Queen and if I didn't then my governess told me I would be sent to her to learn some manners first hand," she said. The image of Haidee standing in front of the towering Witch and announcing that she was there to learn proper manners popped into his head. It was so ridiculous that a laugh burst out of him and after one he found he couldn't stop,

"What?" she said as he hunched over still giggling away. "What? I'll push you off!" she threatened, a smile brightening her face. She pushed her foot lightly against his ribs and he held up his hands in surrender.

"No, no, don't," he laughed. He looked uncertainly at the drop below them.

"Oh, you would be fine. I've been over the edge twice; it's just a long swim to the nearest beach," she said flippantly but moved her foot.

"Twice?"

"I fell once and jumped the other time," she said. "Papa nearly found me."

He snorted again but quickly gained control over himself when she pushed again and a little harder.

"If you push me over, you are coming with me," he warned as he wrapped a hand around her ankle.

"If you get my drawing wet, I will drown you," she replied. He cocked his head to look at the parchment now lying between them. It was the beginning of a sketch of the landscape behind them. Even though it was still rough at this point, she had began to include the tiny specks of sheep a way in the distance on Felimath and the many rocks around the shoreline.

"That's good," he said. She didn't say anything but a small smile curved around her mouth.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Haidee occasionally adding a few more details to her sketch and Edmund watching her do so.

"You know, I think we might have got off on the wrong foot," he said eventually. She laughed as she remembered their somewhat disastrous first meeting.

"I was half-drowned and I'd been pulled into a strange boat by two boys I had never seen before! What was I supposed to do?" she laughed. He didn't answer, instead holding out a hand to her as if in introduction.

"King Edmund the Just," he said. She took it and shook it warmly.

"Haidee the Hider," she replied mockingly. "Welcome to the Lone Islands, sire."

It wasn't the greatest of treaties but this small tentative agreement to start afresh would become a defining moment in both their lives.

* * *

**Reviews please, maybe? :)**


	7. The Board is Set

Haidee fought the urge to slump across her cushions and doodled on the corner of her page.

"And why did your ancestors flee to the Islands at the start of the Long Winter?" Penelope asked.

"Because it was cold?" she said to irk her.

"Anya?" the governess asked with a weary sigh.

"The Witch feared the Sea because Aslan came from beyond it. She dared not follow us out beyond the water for fear of meeting Him," the younger girl replied dutifully. Haidee pursed her lips and drew a tiny lion.

"There you are, Haidee, the answer is always simple. If only you would apply yourself to your studies! Your father expects you to start taking on some of the bureaucratic duties he has!" Penelope said. Haidee's pen juddered to a halt.

"Why? I don't need to know any of this! I can dance, I can read and draw, I can host a party and I can organise a household. I am a commodity ready for Papa to barter with," she said bitterly.

"And if you think like that then you are going to end up just like your mother," Penelope said in a low voice. Haidee lifted her eyes from her parchment to glare at her governess, the two of them ignoring Anya's confused expression.

"If you ever speak to me like that again, I will tell Papa," Haidee warned.

"He would agree with me," Penelope sniffed.

The tension in the room was broken by Lucy pulling Edmund into the library.

"See, Ed, isn't it wonderful?" she was saying. She paused when she was the two girls and the governess seated around the small table. "Apologies for the interruptions," she said.

"It is no problem, your majesties! Perhaps you might like to join our history lesson?" Penelope said oily. Haidee rolled her eyes behind her governess' turned head.

The two younger Pevensies looked at each other and then shook their heads. The governess turned back to her charges, leaving their majesties to explore the library. They approached a cabinet of artefacts that Lucy hadn't seen properly the other day. It seemed to be filled with old rosters and trinkets. There were little coral carvings of nymphs and sea creatures and what looked like a music box made from an oyster shell. Edmund crouched down and opened the cabinet. He slid a chessboard and its pieces out from the bottom shelf and set it on a table.

It was beautiful. The board was made from mahogany and inlaid with mother-of-pearl to make the squares. Each of the pieces were sea-themed; the rooks were little lighthouses, the knights seahorses and the King and Queen merpeople.

"Ah, I believe sire has found one of our more precious relics from before the Long Winter. It was salvaged and brought to the Islands by our ancestors when they fled the mainland," Penelope informed them.

"Because it was cold," Haidee added drily. Her governess gave her a filthy look and then continued, "Its purpose is lost to history but we have hypothesised that it was used by generals to plan battles and co-ordinate the movement of troops."

Edmund sniggered. "Close, it's a game called chess," he said, placing each piece on its starting square. Haidee sat up straighter and stared at the board.

"A game? How do you play?" she asked.

"Haidee, don't bother the King-" Penelope chided but Edmund over-rode her.

"I can teach you the rules if you want. It's fairly simple when you know how to play," he offered. She scrambled to her feet and crossed over to Edmund and Lucy, completely forgetting about her sister and governess.

"Haidee! Come back to your studies or you won't go to the dance tonight!" the governess barked.

Instantly her two girls and the King and Queen were staring at her.

"Dance? We are having a dance?" Anya asked, her voice rising with excitement. Penelope faltered.

"Yes... Your father thought it would be a good way for the Islanders to freely mingle with the Kings and Queens," she said slowly. The sisters grinned at each other. Edmund and Lucy also exchanged a look, amused by their reaction.

"Oh, be off, the pair of you! I know you too well; you are never going to focus on your lesson now!" Penelope said exasperatedly. She knew when she was beaten.

* * *

"A dance, you say," Susan said as Lucy laced her dress for her.

"Yes, all the Islanders are coming. It's a big thing, according to Haidee," her sister explained. "The dances seem to be different from ours though; both girls were horrified when that governess suggested we include some Narnian dances."

Susan placed her crown on her head and smoothed down her dress. "Well, I suppose we did come here to learn about them and their ways," she said.

Haidee knocked respectfully on the door and the Queens stared at her in surprise. She was wearing a relatively plain dress, her hair tied off her face but still flowing freely down her back. She smiled bashfully as shifted from foot to foot nervously.

"I thought I would come and check your dresses," she said. Susan stared down at herself.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Her gown had been finished just before she left Cair Paravel and the creamy silk looked beautiful against her skin. As an answer, Haidee pulled a hidden loop out of the folds of her skirt and slipped it over her wrist. By raising her arm, her skirt was pulled upwards; leaving her bare feet free from the material.

"In those dresses, you are probably going to spend more time on the floor than dancing. Our dances are fast and you have to be nimble," she explained. Lucy and Susan looked at each other's dresses. They were perfect for the stately Narnian dances but clearly they wouldn't do tonight.

"We don't have anything else," Lucy said. Haidee bit her lip.

"Well, I suppose you could borrow one of my old dresses but I don't know what Susan could wear," she said uncertainly, glancing at the taller girl.

"Your mother's maybe?" Susan asked. An odd expression of hate flashed momentarily across Haidee's face but then it returned to her friendly smile.

"Good idea! Follow me, I'm sure we will find something," she said. She led them to the room she had ignored on the day she had given Lucy a tour of the house. It was a large airy room decorated in beautiful varying shades of blue. Haidee vanished into a small adjoining room, leaving the Queens to stare at the marble surfaces and the murals of sea life across every wall. Despite the beauty and care put into the decoration, the room had a distinctly unloved feel to it. The bed looked like it hadn't been slept in for years and a thin layer of dust lay over everything. The only things not dusty were the many chests and boxes heaped around the room.

"This was my mother's room. We use it for general storage now," Haidee said as she returned, sunny yellow and inky blue draped over her arm. She handed the yellow to Lucy and then held out the blue to Susan.

"That colour has never really suited me," Susan admitted.

"All of my mother's dresses are blue, I'm afraid. Her name was Marina and she had a certain affinity for the Sea," Haidee said. Susan took the dress from her and was pleasantly surprised when she saw the fine detailing with tiny seed pearls about the neckline and sleeves. This dress belonged to someone who was greatly loved; it didn't make sense that it had been tucked away where no-one else could wear it. And the same could be said of this room; it had been specifically decorated with great care and attention to detail but now it was little more than a store.

"What happened to your mother?" Susan asked. There it was again, that odd expression of hate or mocking flashing momentarily across Haidee's face.

"I'd rather not talk about it," she said shortly. "She left us when I was very young and it's always been rather painful for me."

* * *

The three girls walked into the central courtyard. It was alive with people; it seemed like the entire population of the Islands were there and all mingling freely. The rich in their finery spoke happily with the poor in their carefully mended best.

Cedric emerged from the crowd and made his way towards them. His face dropped when he saw Susan's dress.

"You girls looks beautiful," Peter said from behind them. Edmund watched Haidee carefully. She was glaring at her father, a challenging gleam in her eye.

"Queen Susan didn't have any suitable dresses to dance in so I found one of Mother's for her," she said.

"It suits you well, your Majesty," Cedric said with icy courtesy.

"If it bothers you then I can change," Susan said politely but the Governor shook his head.

"It is no problem," he said and then turned to the crowd. "My friends, let us show the Kings and Queens what it means to be an Islander!"

Haidee pushed past them excitedly and dived into the throng as a small mismatched band of a kindly-faced old merchant and a few shepherds and fishermen quickly tuned their instruments. They struck up a jaunty tune; the Islanders pairing up.

Cedric led the Kings and Queens to a table surrounded by low cushions. "You may want to sit the first dance or two out until you get a feel for our rhythm."

The dancing in front of them seemed to be composed of mainly spinning and turning. The Islanders turned with an unbelievable speed and grace; their clothes whirling about them in a forest of colours. Only the fauns from the crew _Splendour Hyaline _seemed to able to keep up with them as they twisted and spun this way and that.

"It seems so difficult!" Lucy exclaimed, her eyes shining in delight.

"The steps are really quite simple and we have danced the same dances for generations. Why, look there, even the youngest of us have no difficulty," Cedric said, indicating where a group of children danced on the edge of the circle. The eldest was about eight and the youngest no more than three or four but they all still kicked and turned exactly in sync with the adults and music around them.

"We only have one rule here, you may never refuse a request to dance," Cedric said. "Whether you were born to the noblest family on Avra or whether you are a fisherman's daughter who guts fish on the market stall, tonight you are all equal and you dance together."

Two young men nervously approached their table. "We wondered, perhaps, if the Queens would care to join us for a dance?" the elder asked. The sisters smiled and let themselves be accompanied into the fray.

As their partners pulled them into the circle, the dancers parted and the Kings and Cedric saw Haidee. She was in the very centre of the dancers; her hair flying wildly as she danced and her face more alive than Peter and Edmund had ever seen.

Cedric sighed. "She is the image of her mother tonight."

"What happened to your wife, if you don't mind us asking?" Peter said. The Governor sighed again.

"I loved my wife dearly. Too dearly in fact and I neglected to notice that she was taken by a sickness of the mind. It grew and festered inside of her until she resolved to take herself from us. Haidee was very small and Anya but a babe. A great shame," he said sadly.

Before the boys could fully digest this, the jig ended and Haidee was forcing her way out of the crowd towards them.

"Papa, come dance!" she said, tugging at his arm.

"I don't think so, remember what happened last time?" he smiled.

"Now, now, what was that you were just saying about you can't refuse an offer?" Peter said jokingly.

"Last time I danced with Haidee, I broke my leg."

Haidee pouted and played with her father's sleeve.

"That wasn't my fault, you tripped over Leila's dress. Please, please Papa!" she wheedled.

"No," he said and turned his attention away from her.

"I'll dance with you, if you want," Edmund said. She looked surprised but nodded.

She led him into the very centre of the circle.

"I'll try to help you as much as I can," she said. As the band started again, Edmund looked around.

"How do you know what dance it is?" he asked, taking both her hands like the other couples.

"You can tell by the music," she said brightly, tapping her foot to the rhythm. "In a moment we are going to spin to the left for a count of sixteen."

"Uh, when?" he asked but suddenly she skipped to the side, yanking him around with her. He was surprised by her strength and speed. He leaned back slightly and her grip tightened in panic as they spun faster.

And then she let go and he was spinning other girls, Susan, Lucy, Anya, girls he had never met before, only to be met again by Haidee to turn again.

It was the most confusing thing he had ever done but it was also one of the most fun.

* * *

"Ed looks terrified," Peter said. Cedric laughed heartily.

"He decided he would join one of our more ferocious dances," he agreed. "Your sisters seem to be picking it up better."

As if on cue, Peter saw Lucy stumble and nearly fall. He jumped to his feet but her partner had caught her and lifted her back onto her feet without missing a beat.

"You need not worry sire, we are used to the less-experienced needing some help. Look at the way Haidee directs Edmund," the Governor said.

Peter looked. It was very subtle, merely a small tilt of her hand or her head, but it was clearly helping Edmund. He seemed far more relaxed than a minute ago.

"Shortly I will begin to search for a match for her. She is a pretty girl and she is sweet-tempered when she wants to be. I thought one of the lords of Archenland or possibly Caspian of Telmar," Cedric said. "Or maybe you should consider her as a wife, sire. The ties between the Narnians and the Islanders run deep and it would only be prosperous for both of us to renew them."

_So that's his game,_ Peter thought. He didn't show his surprise on his face.

"Yes, or possibly Prince Rabadash?" he suggested.

The Governor's face darkened and his eyes suddenly burned with a strange fire.

"Oh no," he said quietly, lifting his cup to drink. "No child of mine shall ever marry a Calormene."


	8. Learning to Play

Haidee's concentrating face had a slightly endearing look to it. It reminded Edmund of a puppy chasing its tail; hopelessly futile but with a sweet quality. She twirled a piece of hair between her fingers absent-mindedly and then pursed her lips. Her brow twitched and then she moved a pawn, setting it down on the chessboard with a decisive click.

Edmund chuckled and then took her pawn immediately with his queen.

"You can't do that!" she yelped.

"Yes I can!" he said. "The queen can move in any direction."

"Is the point of this game that you always win?" she asked grumpily, moving a bishop. He took that as well, this time with a knight, and she made a small annoyed sound deep in her throat. They were by the large window in the library. The old chessboard from the cupboard was on a table in front of them and they had spent some hours playing the game.

"Your father told us what happened to your mother," he said.

"Oh really." Her voice was icy. "What did he say?"

"She had an illness of the mind and it made her take her life."

She laughed. It was a very mocking and self-pitying laugh and quite unlike any sound he had ever heard from her before.

"Well, it's fairly accurate, I suppose," she muttered. "She was very sick in the head."

"What really happened to her then?" he asked.

"What do you dream about that makes you cry out in the night?" she immediately countered.

His face instantly darkened and he concentrated on the board.

"There you are," she said. "On the day you tell me about your dreams, I will tell you what happened to my mother."

* * *

"Have you given any more thought to my proposal?" Cedric asked. Peter sipped his water slowly while he thought of a response.

"Which proposal is this?" he asked. "The marriage proposal for Haidee and myself? Why, may I ask?"

The Governor shrugged. "Our countries have very close ties. We should renew our bonds of friendship and bring our families together once more."

"Our countries?" Peter said coldly. "The Islands are a part of Narnia, Cedric. You are not apart from us."

"Slip of the tongue," Cedric said smoothly. "You need not marry her for her mind; your sisters are brilliant advisors to you and she will give you fine children. She's been involved in running the house since she was ten years old and it should not take her long to adjust to the size of Cair Paravel."

Peter considered his words carefully. This so-called slip of the tongue was very interesting. It was clear that Cedric had motivations beyond a good match for his daughter. Was it as simple as a desire to see his descendants on the throne or was it more? These notions of the Lone Islands being separate were worrying. If possible, the Islanders could be quashed but he would rather not risk it. The peace in Narnia had been hard-won and he did not want to disrupt it just for some grumbling subjects of a faraway province. Better to try to discern exactly what he wanted and try to out-manoeuvre him.

"I suppose we could consider it," he said eventually. "But Haidee has to agree to it, if it goes ahead."

"She will," Cedric said and Peter did not care for his tone.

* * *

"Checkmate," Edmund said. Haidee blinked a few times.

"How?" she exclaimed. Edmund picked up a bishop and slid it directly across the board to her unprotected king.

"Like that," he said and tried not to chuckle at her outraged expression.

"This is impossible! Why can't all the pieces just move the same way!" she snapped.

"It wouldn't be much of a game then," he said and began to move the pieces back to their original positions. She sat back on her cushion and regarded the board. "So, let's review each of the pieces," he said.

"King, queen, bishop, knight, rook, pawn," she said, tapping each of them as she said their name. She slowly talked through each of their roles and the ways they could move.

"Right!" he said. "You know it all, you just have to implement it. Now start."

She stared moodily at the board and then pushed a random pawn forward. With a click of the tongue, he pushed one of his own. They toyed back and forth across the board until Edmund began his attack. He chased her pieces down brutally and finally pinned her king in a corner, prompting a yowl of annoyance from deep inside her.

"Not again," she muttered.

He chuckled. "Another match?" he asked, his hand hovering over his queen.

"No, I don't want to play anymore," she pouted. She stood up and crossed to the window. Hooking a hand around a supporting column, she leaned out into the evening sun. "Don't tell me I'm going to fall, I've done this a thousand times," she said when he opened his mouth. "Does Aslan really appear from the East?" she asked quietly.

"Don't know. He's always just appeared when he felt the need to," Edmund said, stretching out on his cushions. "If you want to know about Aslan then you should speak to Lucy. She is closest to him."

"Hmm. Do you know if he has ever been here?"

"Probably. Have you ever seen him here?"

"No. And I think someone would notice a lion walking around. Word travels unusually fast round the Islands when it needs to. One time Anya ran out her room in nothing but her undergarments and went straight into the Duke of Galma. She couldn't show her face in the marketplace for _weeks_," she said with the relish of an older sibling.

He laughed.

"You aren't telling that story again are you?" Anya said as she ducked through the heavy curtain in the doorway. She flushed heavily as her sister grinned evilly at her.

"It's a funny story," Haidee replied lightly. "Like that time you also told the King of Terebinthia that you would marry him because he gave you some paper flowers."

Anya's face turned brighter and she shifted from foot to foot. Edmund coughed back his laughter. She looked far too uncomfortable and he didn't want to upset her further. She was younger than Lucy after all, and nowhere near as fierce.

"You can't tease me about getting married anymore!" Anya snapped. She drew herself up to her full height and glared directly in Haidee's eye. "You are going to get married soon; to High King Peter! I heard him and Papa talking about it!"

Haidee stumbled and had to force herself to fall against the column to stop herself tumbling out of the window.

"What did you just say?" she asked, her voice shaking.

* * *

**Sorry that it took so long to upload this and sorry that I don't think it is as good as the other chapters. Life got a bit difficult for a while and I found myself hitting a brick wall repeatedly over this story. The next chapter shouldn't take so long, hopefully! :)**


	9. Rain on Felimath

Haidee sat at her dressing table, gently brushing her hair as she thought on her impending future.

Marriage. To High King Peter.

She had always known that she would have no say in her marriage, it would be a decision by Papa for the benefit of the Islands, but now that she knew one was in the future, it all felt a bit final. She laid down her brush with a sigh when it occurred to her that she would have to leave the Islands. She looked towards the window. A cherry tree had been planted beneath it and although it was still to reach maturity, the scent of the blossoms blew through with the smallest breeze.

She thought about all the little paths and coves she had discovered in her hours of wandering. The thought of moving away terrified her. She had never left the Islands before. What was she going to do? Did Narnia have all these safe little havens? All she knew about Narnia was that there were Talking Beasts and centaurs and fauns.

Someone cleared their throat behind her. She stood politely when she saw Peter.

"Hello," he said. "May I come in?"

"I suppose," she said, tying her hair back. He stepped over the threshold and there was an awkward moment of silence between them.

"Since we are to be married, I thought maybe we could get to know each other," he said eventually. "I know you have been spending some time with Edmund and Lucy but we really haven't spent much time together."

She nodded. "Makes sense, I suppose. What would you like to do?"

"Everyone always talks about how well you know the Islands. Why don't you show them to me?"

Dressed again in simple clothes at Haidee's request, the couple made their way down into Narrowhaven.

"I thought we'd go to Felimath. It's quieter than Doorn or Avra," she said. "Feel like swimming?"

His heart sunk a little bit until he realised she was joking. She led him down to the docks and along to one of the fisherman's booths set up next to them. An old man was sitting gutting fish. As they approached, his head turned towards them and Peter hesitated as he saw the milky white of blindness staring at him.

"Who is there?" the old man asked. He carried on gutting, his fingers nimble and practised. He dropped the fish in a bucket and picked up another with ease.

"It's me," Haidee said, kneeling down beside her. She took one of his hands and pressed it to her cheek in a familiar gesture and his weather-beaten old face creased into a smile.

"Ah, little flower," he said warmly. "What can I do for you today?"

"We would like to borrow your rowboat to get over to Felimath for the day," she said.

"We? Have you dragged the scholar from her library?" he said jovially.

"No, I have a new companion."

His hand left her cheek and she beckoned to Peter to take it. He did so and it moved to his face, cupping it the same way the old man had with Haidee a moment earlier. The hand was dry and cracked from years exposed to salt but it moved carefully over his face, feeling his features.

"Your friend has a kingly face, little flower," the old man said eventually, cracking a wicked grin. "Whose face is it that I discern, the Magnificent or the Just?"

"I am High King Peter, sir," Peter told him and he gave a bubbly chuckle.

"I'm no _sir_, my liege. Just an old fisherman with a handy rowboat for little flowers to escape to the other Islands," he said. His face turned serious. "I must thank you though. Thank you for allowing me to feel warm for the last few years of my life. I was beginning to fear that I would be taken by the Winter, like my father."

Peter paused, unsure of what to say. This was genuine thanks, not the smarms of Cedric. "It was the least we could do," he said eventually. The old man roared with laughter again.

"Handsome _and_ modest! This one is a keeper, little flower!" he crowed and Haidee shook her head, a small smile on her face.

"Why don't you keep that nonsense to yourself and go back to your fish," she said playfully.

"Aye, that I will! I'll go back to my wives of the sea! Be careful with my boat, Your Royal Magnificence! And be careful with my little flower!" he shouted after them as they walked away.

"He will be, Grandfather! He will be!" Haidee called back to him, sending him cackling for a third time.

Peter looked back and saw for the first time the small similarities. Something in the smile.

"My mother's father," Haidee said as an explanation as they reached a small rowboat. "After Mother left us, Papa did not want us to have anything to do with her family. But he's such a dear that Anya and I could not leave him alone so we had a word with our uncles and... well, nobody really argues with our uncles."

She jumped in neatly. "Do you want to row first or shall I?"

"I will," he said and climbed in after her. "Your mother was really a fisherman's daughter?"

"Prettiest girl in the Islands but also one of the poorest," she said simply, sitting in the stern and letting her fingers trail in the water.

It took about ten minutes to scull across the bay and Haidee directed him to a wide and sandy cove to land the boat in. They pulled it high up the beach away from the tide and walked up a small path and onto the grassy expanse of Felimath.

The Island was different from Doorn and Avra. There were few trees; it was mainly fields of grass surrounded by sweet smelling heathers. In the distance, they could see tiny shepherding huts and occasionally they passed the occupants. Young men, sitting in the shade of dry-stone walls, kept a lazy eye on the flocks of sheep but cast an interested gaze towards them when they walked by. Haidee ignored them because a nagging fear was growing in her mind.

She liked this. Walking next to Peter and talking animatedly about anything that crossed their mind; it was nice. But it felt friendly. She could not imagine even holding hands with him as they walked along. Of course she though he was handsome but she didn't feel anything amorous towards him.

Eventually they reached the easternmost point of the Island. As they gazed out into the Sea together, Haidee heard a familiar rumble. She turned and looked up into the sky, her hand shielding her eyes.

"Rainstorm," she told Peter. "It will pass soon and I know a place where we can shelter. Come on!"

She led him down to the beach and along the sand. As the rain began to fall, heavier than Peter was expecting, he saw a small cave in the cliff wall. It really wasn't much of a cave, only going back a few feet, and it would be very tight for them both to sit in it.

Haidee hugged her knees to her chest and watched the rain. She suddenly felt very awkward.

"So," Peter began.

"I don't want to marry you."

The words tumbled from her mouth before she could stop them. She hugged herself tighter, suddenly terrified of how he might react.

"Well, good. I don't particularly want to marry you either," he replied. "You are a beautiful and kind girl but you aren't what I'm looking for in a wife and a Queen. I'm more interested in why your father is so keen for us to get married."

"Well, I don't know that. He doesn't tell me anything, I'm too stupid," she said.

"Please don't say that, Haidee," he said wearily. "You aren't stupid. You can remember all these paths and secrets around the Islands, could you hold them in your head if you were stupid?"

She shrugged.

"Could you- could you act stupid?" he asked slowly. She looked at him, confused. "If you went to your father and told him that you didn't want to marry me and refused to budge, he might admit to you the real reason why he wants us married."

She grinned. "Yeah, I can do that. If I get him annoyed enough then he snaps at me."

"And you are fine with it? You will be going behind your father's back."

"Yes, but if I don't then he is just going to keep trying to push us together," she said. "I want to know the truth too."

* * *

**And with this chapter, I have written and published over 100,000 words through my stories. Just thought I would share this little statistic because I'm very proud to have reached this milestone. :)**


	10. The Pawns are Out of Play

Haidee paused outside her father's study and took a deep breath.

"Good morning, Papa," she said as she walked in. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"Good morning," he replied without looking up at her.

"Papa, can I talk to yourself about something?" she said, moving around his desk and sitting in front of it. His brow furrowed and he turned over one of the sheets of parchment on his desk.

"Can it wait? I'm very busy," he said wearily. Something snapped inside her. She was tired of being brushed aside when he did not need her.

"No, it can't," she said tersely. "I don't want to marry Peter."

He looked up sharply and then returned to his paperwork.

"I'm sorry, my dear, but you have to."

"But I don't want to. I don't want to go to Narnia, I don't want to leave the Islands and I don't want to marry him."

He put his pen down and sat back in the chair. She resisted the urge to run away and met his gaze.

"Haidee," he said firmly. "Do not argue with me. What is wrong with him? He's kind, he's a fine warrior and together you will have lots of little golden-haired princes and princesses."

Her mouth twisted as she caught the mockery in his voice. She folded her arms.

"Why do I have to marry him?" She added a whining note just to irritate him.

"Because I need you to!" he snapped. She jumped as he slammed his hand into the table. "I am sick of people looking down their noses at us, Haidee! Galma, Terebinthia, Telmar, those dogs of Calormen! Even these Kings and Queens! I was governing these Islands long before they appeared but they still come and look at me like I don't know anything!" he shouted.

"They are our monarchs," she pointed out. He flinched.

"Maybe so but not for much longer," he muttered. She stared at him blankly. For extra effect, she blinked.

"Don't you understand, you stupid girl!" he barked. He glared at her and she kept her face carefully blank in return. "We have to establish ourselves as a power in our own right! Too long have we been oppressed and I am tired of it! If it's not Narnia then it is always someone else! I can't push Peter for independence without a stronger position and unfortunately I need you married and in his bed if I am to succeed!"

"So, you want us to be independent because you are tired of people looking down on you," she said slowly. "Papa, that's a bit pathetic."

He shot to his feet and slammed both hands on the table, his face purple with rage.

"This is about our Islands! Nobody takes us seriously, Haidee!"

"No, Papa, no-one takes you seriously! You fuss and bluster and people smile politely but they don't listen! If you were to take some advice from some of the other Islanders-"

"That's it! You've been down at the docks listening to your grandfather again!" he roared. "I won't be sneered at by some blind, old man who has spent his life barely supporting himself!"

"So what if I have?! I won't marry Peter if it means I'm just a pawn in some game you are playing! Stop treating me like something to barter with!" she screamed back.

They stared each other down for a terrible minute. Then Cedric turned away from her and sat back at his desk.

"Well, if you won't marry Peter then I will marry Anya to Edmund," he said dismissively. Her stomach flipped horribly and her fingers twisted into the fingers of her dress.

"Don't you dare," she said darkly. "She's twelve. You can't make those kind of decisions about her life; she's too young."

He looked at her dismissively. "Well, be a good girl and do as I say then," he said.

She ran from him. She ran and it took everything in her to not bolt for her hiding place overlooking the bay and instead managed to stumble to Peter's room. He was talking with Susan and he looked around hopefully when she entered.

"I was just explaining things to Susan," he said. "What happened?"

"Um, we were right, he wants the Islands to be independent..." she stuttered and then burst into tears. Susan crossed to her and hugged her reassuringly.

"What did he say?" she asked.

"He's an obnoxious prat and he's all worked up because everyone knows it and there is nothing he can do to change it" Haidee spat. "And... he said if I didn't marry Peter then he would marry Anya to Edmund.."

She trailed off again into a series of hiccupy sobs. "She's only twelve and we only have each other. I've had to be like a surrogate mother to her. I can't let him manipulate her like that!"

"You won't have to worry about that; Ed would never agree to be betrothed to a twelve year old," Susan said matter-of-factly. "Now, stop crying and calm down. Tell us exactly what he said and we shall sort this dreadful mess out."

* * *

Meanwhile, Lucy and Edmund were walking through the market of Narrowhaven. The locals seemed as inquisitive as ever but something felt different. Now that Peter had informed him of his suspicions of the Governor's intentions, he could see it. The children were their usual curious selves, rushing out from houses to garble greetings or roguishly challenge him or to duel, but there was something deep within the eyes of the adults.

Resentment.

Eventually they found themselves at the docks. An old man was sitting and gutting some fish, whistling an old sea-shanty.

"Morning," he called good-naturedly. "Tis a fine day, though I warrant there's a nasty storm coming."

"It looks fine enough," Lucy called back.

"Does it?" he said with surprise. "I must be getting senile in my old age!"

He chuckled, a bubbly, merry chuckle that brought smiles to both their faces. "Forgive me, my girl, but I don't recognise your voice and as you can see, my eyes aren't what they used to be. Who are you?"

"It's a valiant little Narnian flower," a gruff but kind voice said behind them. Edmund looked over his shoulder and saw a burly man unloading crates of fish from a small boat. He nodded respectfully at Edmund. The old man looked positively delighted.

"Oh! A valiant little flower! Should I curtsey?" he asked.

"If you want, Pa," the fisherman said cheerfully, shaking his head. "His Royal Justness looks a little put out though."

"His Royal Justness and a valiant flower? Oh, I must curtsey now!" the old man announced. He stood up and theatrically bobbed a curtsey. Lucy giggled at the sight and even Edmund couldn't help but smile.

"Stop your nonsense," the fisherman said. "Their Royal Majesties will think all Islanders are mad after all your performances."

"Believe me, it is welcome after all of the Governor's enforced formality," Edmund assured him.

The fisherman's face darkened instantly and he spat in the Sea.

"Alain," the old man said disapprovingly, his sweet demeanour vanishing in an instant.

"Sorry, Pa, but all that gibberish he's been spouting recently. About how we deserve to be a nation of our own. It's a load of rubbish but people can't see that; people can't see what he's really like! Look what he did to Marina!" Alain said fiercely.

"His wife? Haidee and Anya's mother?" Edmund said sharply.

"Aye, and my baby sister," he replied.

"Alain! That's enough!" the old man said. "Aye, Cedric has been throwing his weight around but we just have to weather it like we do with all storms. It shall pass and all shall be well again."

"So you don't agree with him? You don't want to be independent?" Lucy asked.

"We can hardly stand in front of you and denounce you, your Majesties," Alain pointed out.

"Please, speak freely," Edmund told them. "We'd rather know the truth so we can reach an amicable decision."

"My grandmother was born in Narnia. She fled to the Islands at the start of the Long Winter," the old man said. "Since then these Islands have been our home. The Island grasses and the salt of the Sea are in our blood and they will always be a part of us. But, I believe this world was called forth in song by the Great Lion, Aslan, and I believe in the Deep Magic from the Dawn of Time. If that doesn't make me Narnian, then I don't know what does."


	11. Check

The house was far too quiet. Cedric walked through the passages of his home, looking for somebody. Even the servants seemed to be missing. It was peculiar...

He walked into his study and stopped dead. Peter was sitting at his desk, Edmund by his right shoulder and Lucy sitting on the desk itself. Susan stood by the window with Haidee, her slim white hand on the younger girl's arm. Haidee began to tremble as soon as her father entered the room but Susan's presence gave her strength.

"Is there a problem?" the Governor asked with icy politeness. Lucy gave him a radiant smile.

"My siblings and I have been in discussion for the past few days and we believe that you may have motives beyond the joining of our families when it comes to the union of Haidee and myself," Peter said. "Motives that involve independence for the Islands and it seems to me that you've been planting false impressions into the heads of the Islanders."

Cedric blustered and raged but the Kings and Queens didn't move. Haidee would have bolted if not for Susan's hand. Lucy kept her wide smile trained on Cedric until he faltered, a vein throbbing in his forehead.

"This is preposterous, your Majesty!" he growled.

"I am Emperor of the Lone Islands, Cedric. They fall under my dominion and _you_ are my subject; until you come to realise that there can be no marriage between your girls and either myself or Edmund," Peter told him.

"We also feel that the power is too concentrated on the Islands, a Governor holds his position for life after all, and so we are decreeing that a council must be formed to spread the control and give the people back some of their rights and freedoms as citizens of Narnia," Edmund added. Peter looked round at his brother with surprise. They exchanged a look, humour dancing in Edmund's eyes,

"We'd also like a tribute," Lucy pitched in brightly.

Cedric blinked. "A tribute, my Queen?"

"Yes, a tribute! A tribute in gold from the Islanders to us to show their allegiance," she said. "To be delivered once a year on this date to the gates of Cair Paravel. Starting today."

"And if the tribute is in anyway late or unable to be gathered then the Governor will have to match it using his own gold," Edmund said. "And I don't think you are going to make that first payment."

Cedric's face turned an ugly colour and he turned on his daughter, his breath coming in small snorts. Haidee lifted her eyes from the rug and met his gaze.

"At least you can stay here on the Islands forever now, you little copy of your mother," he snarled and stormed from the room. Haidee wilted and sagged against the window sill.

Peter turned to his two younger siblings, his eyebrows raised. "A tribute of gold?" he said. "You didn't think to maybe run that by me or Su?"

"It worked, didn't it?" Lucy said, jumping neatly off the desk. "Some old fisherman down at the docks suggested it to us. He said people would be willing to do it."

There was a strange choking noise and they all looked around. Haidee's shoulders were shaking uncontrollably as she laughed. Susan caught her as her legs buckled.

"Oh, in the name of all the sweet Island grasses and the salt of the Sea, what have you done?" she giggled. "We are never going to hear the end of this one."

* * *

"...which takes us neatly onto Point Twelve; the maintenance of the shepherding huts on Felimath. It has been noted that the Eastern huts in particular are in a state of disrepair..."

Alain's droning voice floated through the doorway as Peter and Lucy walked past.

"I didn't know you could be so cruel, Lu," Peter said. "Haidee's uncles are wasted as fisherman; I swear they must have been lawyers or politicians in a previous life."

"I was getting a little annoyed with the way Cedric was treating me and Susan," she replied. "Like all women are incompetent or something. No wonder Haidee felt so boxed in."

"Well, hopefully both Haidee and Anya will have more freedom now," Peter said.

* * *

Edmund moved a bishop. Haidee surveyed the chessboard disparagingly, gazing in dismay at the remnants of her army. They had carried the board down to the point overlooking the bay. It was balanced on the wall between them; they sitting on either side. Edmund slightly uncomfortably so.

"I'm going to miss playing this game when you have gone," she said suddenly. "I suppose I could teach Anya to play." She moved a rook.

He smiled and took her last knight. "Maybe we could come up with a way to keep playing."

* * *

_Seven Years Later_

The Islanders always presented the tribute on time, much to the Kings and Queens' disappointment. A tiny part of them longed to see Cedric dig in his pocket again.

Lucy and Haidee exchanged letters over the years. Lucy's were always full of news and things they had done; Haidee's were more sparse. From her replies Lucy gleaned that the Islands were run far more efficiently since their intervention and there were no more notions of independence among the Islanders.

She enjoyed opening her mail at the breakfast table and she would either discuss the contents with her siblings or keep it private depending on her nature. One morning, the faun waiting on them handed her her usual bundle and she recognised Haidee's elegant script on the top envelope.

She slit it open with her knife and furrowed her brow as a second note fell out of the main parchment.

"It's for Edmund," she said, holding it up.

There was a pause and then Edmund lunged across the table in a frenzy and scrabbled to snatch the note from his sister's hand. He unfurled it, his face burning with anticipation, and then grinned horribly as he read the contents.

"I have her now!" he cried triumphantly and ran from the table, leaving behind some very confused siblings.

"Does anyone know what that was about?" Peter asked in the silence following his sudden departure.

Lucy exchanged looks with her brother and sister and then went to find her wayward brother. She found him eventually, standing over his chessboard and chuckling fiendishly.

This chessboard in particular was something of an irregularity. Edmund refused to let anybody ever touch it; if he played a game with one of the others then he fetched a different one. Yet gradually, the pieces moved back and forth across the squares as if a game was being played.

Edmund looked over his shoulder as his sister approached and then pointed at the board.

"She's made a mistake! I've got her now!" he crowed.

"You are playing chess with Haidee?" she said disbelievingly. He nodded.

"We devised a way to tell each other our moves," he said, showing her the note that had been enclosed in the letter. It made no sense at all to Lucy; it was merely some numbers and letters scrawled on a torn off bit of parchment. "Seven years and she is yet to beat me," he added with relish.

"Well, soon you should be able to play her properly again," Lucy said. She waved the letter at him. "She's accompanying the yearly tribute."

* * *

**So, we are back into Narnia! Time for the home stretch, where it will unfortunately all get a bit sad.**

**Also, I've been plugging away at my other fic _Destiny's Instrument_ and I've been thinking of a possible sequel to it. If I was to write it, would you like to see Haidee in it? Without giving too much away, she would be quite different from the Haidee here but the essence of the character would still be the same. Leave a review telling me what you think and I'd appreciate it if you went and had a look at _Destiny's Instrument_ too. :3**

**Till next time!**


	12. New Game

The girl who emerged from the ship from the Lone Islands was not the girl the Kings and Queens had left in Doorn. Haidee had matured a great deal in those seven years. Her long auburn hair had been cut so it bounced against her shoulders and neck instead of hanging down her back and her eyes shone with a new light and freedom.

She curtseyed politely as they met on the docks and gratefully returned Lucy's hug as the younger Queen rushed to greet her.

"Oh, has it been seven years?" Lucy beamed as she stepped back. "It doesn't seem nearly as long!"

"It does to me! You would not recognise the Islands now, they run so differently!" she said. "Uncle Alain devised a system where people pay towards the tribute depending on the amount they earn so the rich pay more than the poor. I didn't know he could count past twenty!"

Peter laughed and gestured up the dock. "We've prepared a room for you. Please feel free to stay as long as you want," he said as they began to walk.

"If your father doesn't want you back before a certain time," Susan joked. Haidee smiled.

"He has let Anya and me have a lot more freedom certainly," she admitted. She looked at Edmund. "You are being very quiet," she said to him playfully. He grinned.

"I took your queen."

Her mouth dropped open and she stared at him dolefully.

"You pig!" she exclaimed and he laughed evilly.

"Oh, come on, do!" Lucy said, grabbing Haidee's arm. "You can argue about the nuances of chess later! The horses are waiting!"

"Horses? What are horses?" Haidee asked. They all looked at her. Her face was completely open and blank. It truly was extraordinary; she genuinely didn't know.

"How can you not know what a horse is?" Lucy said slowly.

"It's an animal with four legs. We ride on their backs," Susan said, hating the simplification of her words. A horse was so much more than that pitiful description but how do you best describe something to someone who had never seen it before?

"It's like a centaur but with a... different head," Peter said when she still looked blank.

"Why do you ride on them? Why can't you walk?" she asked, still looking unsure, and Edmund instantly understood.

The Islands were small enough that one could walk around each of them in a matter of hours. A horse wasn't needed. If Haidee needed to go somewhere then she walked and it had never occurred to her to travel in any other way on land.

She looked possibly sick as they approached the horses.

The small charger they had chosen for her to ride bobbed her head. "I am Peaseblossom, my lady, and I shall be your mount while you are in Narnia."

"I- I'm sorry but I can't. I don't mean any offence to you, Peaseblossom, but I can't ride you," Haidee said shakily. "I don't know how."

"You can jump thirty feet off a cliff into water but you won't ride a horse?" Edmund said as he mounted Philip. She looked at him helplessly. He sighed and held out a hand. "Ride with me if you are so scared."

She accepted it gratefully and let him pull her onto the horse behind him. She squealed and buried her face in his back as Philip charged forward.

"Philip, you might want to slow down," Edmund said. Philip's ears flicked with humour.

"As you wish, your Majesty," he said and slowed. Haidee's arms were still wrapped tightly around Edmund's waist. It was odd having her so close but not entirely unpleasant.

Eventually they clattered into the courtyard by the stables.

"We are here," Edmund said over his shoulder. She didn't move. "Pete, a little help please," he sighed.

After dismounting, Peter walked over to Philip. He held out his hands to Haidee and she gripped them with a surprising amount of force. She slid off the horse with a bump and Peter had to catch her as her legs buckled.

She looked thoughtful. "I think I'll walk back to the harbour when I go home," she said before Susan swept her away.

Philip snorted and laid his ears back. Edmund held back his laughter and patted his faithful friend's neck reassuringly.

As he dismounted, he caught Lucy looking at him with an odd twinkle in her eye.

"What?" he asked. Her expression instantly became one of pure innocence.

"Nothing," she said meekly.

* * *

Haidee climbed a flight of steps and paused at the top. For the first time in her life, she was lost. It wasn't a pleasant feeling. She turned and looked down the stairs behind her and then looked along the corridor in front of her. Her lips pursed.

Where, in the name of all the sweet Island grasses, was she? This place was a maze!

With a sigh of resignation, she walked along the corridor. Worryingly, she seemed to be getting higher. Yes, she had just climbed a staircase but she had descended more and walked through corridors twisting this way and that and still she seemed to be climbing!

A door opened ahead of her and Edmund appeared. He grinned at her.

"Lost?"

She flushed slightly.

"No," she lied. "I was just going for a walk."

He raised an eyebrow at her and she crumpled.

"How do you find your way around this place?" she complained.

"Come on. I'll show you around," he said. "You've wandered a fair way from the guest quarters. I think we keep forgetting that you are from three small Islands."

"You're telling me. I think this palace is bigger than Avra," she grumbled.

He showed her through the many corridors and rooms of the citadel and with every new room her eyes became wider. It was all a bit much for her, he could tell. All a bit much that is, until he showed her the Kings and Queens' private drawing room and her eye fell upon a certain chessboard.

Her chin jutted out and she walked slowly towards it, her mind calculating furiously. Her fingers stroked a bishop thoughtfully before moving to a knight and sliding it across the board instead. She turned back to him; her arms folded and a small glimmer of a challenge sparkling in her eyes.

He glanced at the board and clicked his tongue. Almost nonchalantly, he moved a pawn.

Before long, they were seated on either side of the board, her yowling in frustration and him grinning arrogantly, as if they were still sitting on the hidden ledge over-looking the bay between the Islands.

Lucy watched them silently from the small balcony overlooking the room.

"Eavesdropping is considered rude by most," her eldest brother said behind her, making her jump. She shot him an evil look over her shoulder.

"They aren't talking so I'm hardly eavesdropping," she said flippantly. Peter raised his eyebrows at her.

"Oh, come on, Peter," she said. "Haidee is the only girl he has ever shown interest in. Let me play matchmaker!" she begged, pulling her most adorable face and batting her eyelashes.

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, if you want to. It can't go any worse than the last time you tried," he said, walking away.

Her mouth fell open in mock horror as she scrambled after him.

"That wasn't my fault!" she said, linking arms with him. "How was I to know she was allergic to sardines!"

She skidded to a fault suddenly. "Haidee is terrified of horses. Oh my, this is going to be difficult, I can't send them very far from the Cair," she said sincerely, causing Peter to laugh and shake his head. She really was unbelievable sometimes.

* * *

**Urgh, this chapter gave me problems. Hopefully you think it is good as ever!**

**Side note, because I type so fast, I'm constantly writing _forward_ as _froward_. This is unfortunately making me imagine everyone in Narnia having massive afros. I think Oreius rocks his the most. :P**


	13. Operation Pony

"Welcome to Operation Pony!" Lucy said with all the fervour of a general delivering battle tactics.

"...Pony?" Peter asked. His younger sister glared at him.

"Yes, Pony!" she snapped. "Our aims are simple; to get Edmund and Haidee together!"

Susan and Peter groaned and slumped in their seats.

"Is this wise? Given your track record for trying to match-make people?" Susan asked tentatively.

"I didn't know she was allergic-" Lucy exclaimed.

"To sardines, we know!" Peter sighed. "Su isn't referring to just that. There was the picnic; the dance; the ostrich-"

"Not that one!" Susan said, burying her face in her hands. "I still have nightmares about that one!"

Lucy's eyes narrowed. "I had success with Lord Peridan!"

"They were already betrothed!" Susan said wearily. "It doesn't count."

Lucy rapped the table with the hilt of her dagger.

"Enough talk!" she said. "Operation Pony shall work! I am certain of it! Now, here is my plan!"

* * *

Edmund watched Haidee think about her move. Her fingers touched a chess piece.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you," he said. She frowned and moved to another one. "Keep trying," he said. She raised her eyebrows at him.

"Are you quite finished?" she asked icily.

"Maybe. Depends on what your next attempt at a move is going to be," he replied. She made to push him playfully but he caught her wrist and held it. "Now, now, play nice!" he grinned, pulling her close to him across the board. He hesitated as her scent washed over him. There was an overlying flowery perfume but underneath lay something grassy and the salt of the Sea.

She smelt like the Islands; and for one instant he forgot that he was in his home and was transported to hers.

She pulled away from him and he let her wrist slide from his grasp.

"Tell me when you aren't feeling so immature," she said, flouncing out. She stopped in the corridor outside and drew in a deep breath.

There were several boys back in the Islands she had flirted and danced with over the years but they were harmless. It had been fun to receive their attention and affections but she'd never felt as conflicted as she did when with Edmund. He could infuriate and charm her all with the same breath and nothing sent her scrambling for the mail like his notes had. She had been desperate to play a proper game with him ever since their first written exchange. Even seeing him again gave her a warm glow unlike anything she had ever felt before.

She wasn't falling for him, was she?

* * *

"So, this is a joust," Haidee said uncertainly, taking a seat with Susan and Lucy in their box.

"Right! It should be good fun; Peter and Edmund are jousting against each other today," Susan said.

Haidee scanned the purpose built jousting arena, or tilt-yard as everybody seemed to refer to it as. There seemed to be a disproportionate amount of young women in amongst the Talking Beasts and fauns, all clutching pieces of cloth of varying colours.

"The vultures," Lucy noted. "Pete and Ed have to choose one of them to receive their favour. Watch them when our brothers are deciding."

"A favour?" Haidee asked. Susan waved her own piece of cloth, blue but with a tiny royal crest sewn at one end, at her.

Peter was trotting back and forth surveying the crowd. Haidee nearly laughed out loud to see the girls puff out their chests and smile prettily as the High King rode past. They were like birds making a display for a mate!

Eventually Peter swung his mount round and rode to the booth where his sisters and Haidee sat. He rested his lance against the partition.

"Dearest sister of mine, Valiant Queen Lucy," he intoned formally, "may I have the honour of bearing your favour against our brother?"

"You may," she replied sweetly. She stood and tied her own favour, yellow but with a royal crest like Susan's, around the end. They grinned at each other and Peter winked before spurring his horse back to his starting place.

"Look at their faces," Susan said, laughter ringing in her voice. The girls still held their smiles in place but their eyes all conveyed their disappointment.

"They'd give their right arms to be High Queen," Lucy added as she returned to her seat. "Fat chance of that happening. Pete's far too busy to do anything more than dance occasionally in way of courtship."

"And Edmund?" Haidee asked casually.

"His mind is in other places," Susan said. Her heart sunk and she looked at her lap, meaning she completely missed the conspiratorial look exchanged by the two queens.

Edmund rode out into the tilt-yard and instantly the faces of the girls lit up again. They shuffled in their seats and flicked their hair over their shoulders. He too scanned the crowd and then, like his brother, made his way to the queens and Haidee's booth.

"Haidee? Would you let me wear your favour?" he asked with a grin, resting his lance on the partition. She blinked in surprise and then smiled. With no real favour, she pulled the ribbon in her hair out and tied that around the lance instead. She met his gaze for a second and then he rode away.

"Vultures are circling," Lucy murmured in a sing-song voice. Haidee looked across the stands and caught the array of looks ranging from shock to open hostility.

"I'm related to fisherman. They try to circle round me and I'll lob a few curses at them to strip them of their feathers," Haidee said dismissively, returning to her seat. "So, who is going to win?"

"Well, Edmund wins hands down in a melee but Peter is the better horseman," Susan said.

"But Ed's riding Philip today and they are one of the best teams," Lucy pointed out. "It could go to either one of them, to be honest."

The Kings' pages handed them their helmets and they faced each other, their horses prancing with anticipation. A faun stepped forwards and waved a flag. Their hands went up and slid their visors in place. Suddenly they were surging towards each other. Silence fell over the crowds as the lances came down and all that could be heard was the snorting of the horses. Their muscles bulged as they ploughed on; their riders steady and true.

Nothing could have prepared Haidee for the noise as they collided. Both lances shattered with a terrible crash against their shields but Peter and Edmund thundered on without even flinching. New lances were handed to them and they veered around for the second charge.

There was the same horrible clash but this time Peter was thrown from his saddle. There was a gasp from the crowd followed by a relieved cheer when he got to his feet. Smiling, he pulled his helmet off and grasped Edmund's hand as he rode past again.

He jogged over to the booth where they were sitting and climbed over the partition.

"Good show," Susan said, handing him a cup of water. He laughed.

"I'm glad to be knocked out. Ed doesn't know who he has to ride against next," he said.

Another cheer went up as Edmund's next opponent entered the tilt-yard. General Oreius bowed to his sovereigns with a coy smile on his face.

"Not fair!" Lucy yelled at him jovially. "How do you unseat a centaur?" she said as an explanation to Haidee's quizzical look.

Edmund handed his helmet to a waiting page, a smile playing around his face. He rode over to them again.

"Don't suppose you have any more favour?" he asked with a grin.

"I think I have some," she said. She leant over the partition and kissed him soundly, her fingers twisting through his hair. She felt him tense and then he began to kiss her back. Their lips parted and he chuckled as the crowd cheered their approval.

"You win and I'll give you one for the next round too," she whispered in his ear.

"Does this count as a win for me?" Lucy asked hopefully as Edmund rode back to his starting place.

"No. That was not the plan you outlined for Operation Pony," Peter laughed.

* * *

**Urgh, this chapter. -_-* I now know exactly where I am taking the story so hopefully the remaining chapters will a) come out a bit quicker and b) be of better quality than the last few. I really was stumped on how to make Ed and Haidee have their first kiss. Every time I tried to write something private and intimate it didn't feel right and in the end I kinda went " (&]£*?!{ JUST SNOG HIM IN PUBLIC!" Hopefully it's ok. See you soon!**


	14. Arguments

**AN: I majorly screwed up in my dates so we had to have another time-skip to compensate. Sorry, I'm so annoyed that I allowed this to happen! Also, is whore a bit strong for a K+ fic? It gets used once here and several times in the next chapter and I'm a bit unsure. On another note, cover! You like? :) Anyway, please enjoy the chapter.  
**

* * *

Edmund paused at the door to the map room and smiled. Ever since that spontaneous kiss at the joust, he and Haidee had almost been inseparable. Their relationship grew and flourished with each day that passed and she happily became a member of the Royal Household. Idle gossip flourished too amongst the courts of the other countries but they ignored it.

They were careful never to show affection in public. Edmund had his private apartments in Cair Paravel and Haidee knew a score of places in the Lone Islands if they ever desired some time alone.

And she was yet to beat him at chess.

To give some feeble reason as to why she would remain with them for so long, Peter gave Haidee the title of Royal Cartographer. The maps of Narnia were old, having not been renewed since before the Long Winter, and the High King felt that they should have the best advantage possible for any military manoeuvres that needed planning. With her skills in drawing and her memory for the lay of the land, her maps were always accurate and well-detailed. On most days she could be found toiling over a half-finished map; as she was doing today.

She looked up and returned his smile as he entered. "I've nearly finished Beaversdam," she said. "I will probably need to go back once more for final details and then I can start on the Shuddering Woods."

He walked across to her table and looked down at the map. "It is going to be beautiful when it is finished," he said, stroking her shoulder.

"I will be lucky if I can finish; there has been such a ruckus the past few days that I have barely been able to concentrate. Is someone coming for a visit?" she said, leaning into him.

"We are playing host to Prince Rabadash and his retainers for the next week," he told her. Ah. He felt her tense under his hand.

"Oh," she said.

"Is there a problem?" he asked. Yes, there was. Why did she have to be like this?

"No," she lied. "Why is he coming here?"

"He is looking to court Susan," he said. She laid down her pen and stared up at him dolefully.

"Ed, you can't be serious. Not a Calormene," she said. He stepped away from her with a sigh. This wasn't the first time he had heard this.

"I'm not going to have this argument with you again. Why do you think like this? Have you met him before?"

"No!" she said... a little too quickly. "But when you know one you know them all," she continued before he could interrupt. "The men are all filthy sons of dogs who make free with as many women as they possibly can. By the Lion's Mane, Ed, they keep harems! You really want your sister to be involved with someone like that!"

"Haidee, that is so prejudiced!" he exclaimed.

"Well, it's what I think. Have you ever heard about some of the rituals to Tash they perform? And they call _us_ barbaric."

"You are going to have to put these thoughts aside while they are here," he warned her. She shrugged.

"Maybe I won't have anything to do with them," she retorted.

"By the Lion's Mane! Why are you acting like a child!" he said.

"Because I don't want to dress up and play nice to the likes of Rabadash," she shouted back.

"Haidee, we are in an uncommitted relationship! I love you and Peter and I are the first to defend your honour when dispersions are cast but I can't let you speak out of turn like this!" he said, his voice rising slightly. "It reflects badly on me; on all the monarchs of Narnia!"

She hated him when they fought. She could scream and stamp her feet until her throat was hoarse but he would barely raise his voice against hers. He would play the diplomat's card and all she had was the fishwife's.

"Maybe I should just go back to the Lone Islands, if I embarrass you so much!" she cried and ran from the map room.

She wanted him to run after her and catch her. It was a common trick after they had fought. Usually he would humour her.

This time, he didn't.

* * *

The Edmund and Haidee who joined the others were not the couple they were accustomed to. Haidee stalked away from him and took her place in their household with a barely a glance towards him. Edmund stood next to his brother with a stony face.

"What's wrong?" Peter asked.

"We've had an argument. Haidee was rather rude about our guests," he said lightly. He met his brother's gaze meaningfully. "I don't think she should be allowed to entertain Rabadash and his followers, at least alone. Hopefully she will just keep herself away from them," he added.

"You think Cedric's influence," Peter noted, remembering the Governor's own signs of prejudice towards the people of Calormen. His brother nodded.

"The only sign of his character I have ever seen in her," he confirmed.

"I'll make note of it to Susan and Lucy," Peter muttered and smiled warmly as the Calormene contingent walked beneath the gateway of Cair Paravel.

They were a merry sight. All dressed in colourful silks, the men in flowing robes and the women heavily veiled, they waved pennants and cast flower petals into the air. From the centre emerged a figure in the most brightly coloured robes of them all. He approached the Kings and Queens and bowed with a theatrical flourish.

"Prince Rabadash! Welcome to Cair Paravel!" Peter said and stepped forward to meet him.

"Your Majesty," the Prince said and grasped Peter's offered hand. "The Tisroc, may he live forever, sends you his blessings and his well-wishes."

"And we, of course, extend our own blessings," Peter replied. He stood to one side and gestured towards his siblings. Rabadash bowed to Edmund and Lucy and then his eyes fell upon Susan. He sighed expansively.

"Ah, Queen Susan. Your beauty surpasses all that I have seen before. Forgive me, for I am the weary traveller who has walked the sands of the desert and happened upon a most lush and bountiful oasis. Allow me to taste the waters," he said and pressed his lips to Susan's hand.

"Pretty words," Susan noted with a smile. He smiled thinly and his eyes strayed around the courtyard. His gaze fell upon Haidee and he paused.

"I don't believe it," he said. "Last time I saw you..."

He turned back to his people. "Come! Come here and see the pretty thing that has grown from your cub!" he called. One of the women detached herself from the group and took a few steps towards Haidee. She pulled the veils from her face and the Kings and Queens found themselves looking at what Haidee would become twenty years into the future. She stared at the younger girl; her eyes full of inquisitive hope.

Haidee's own face was livid. Edmund had never seen such an ugly expression on her face before. She took a deep breath and clenched her shaking hands.

"Haidee," he said warningly. She smiled at him but there was something wild hiding in her eyes. An insane little giggle slipped from her.

"Your Majesties!" she announced. "Allow me to present the Lady Marina, my darling mother and the biggest whore in the Tisroc's household."

Her eyes flicked back to Rabadash. "May he live forever," she added venomously.


	15. A Bad Attempt at Reconciliation

Haidee paced around her favourite garden of Cair Paravel. Her chest was pumping as she sucked in great lungfuls of air to try to calm herself. She didn't know what to expect, really. If her relationship was to continue with Edmund then she would have had to visit Calormen at some point and then she would have had no choice but to see Marina again. No, she was more angry that Marina had popped up like this. It was a horrible surprise.

Heels clicked on the flagstones behind her and she turned to see the horrible surprise staring at her.

"Can we talk?" Marina asked.

"If we must," she said grimly and sat herself on a stone bench. Marina paused and then perched tentatively next to her. Haidee sneaked a sidelong glance at her. That wasn't her mother sitting next to her. Her mother wore the colours of the sea; velvet dresses ranging from the greens that swirled at the foot of the cliffs to the deep inky blues of the open ocean. This imposter was wearing silks in red and purple.

"How is your father?" the imposter asked. Haidee looked down at the flagstones of the path. There were tiny blades of grass growing up in between the stones. She focused on them.

"He's fine," she replied flatly.

"And... Anya. How old is she now?"

Haidee's hands clenched. Marina had said her sister's name like it was alien to her. "She is twenty one. She thinks you are dead."

"You told her?"

"Quite the opposite. You weren't there; no-one spoke of you; therefore she assumed."

Marina didn't answer. Haidee fought to keep herself calm. This woman wasn't her mother. Her mother was dead and this was some whore who happened to look like her. She hated her; she hated what she had done to her father and their family. So why did she long to lay her head in her lap and let her stroke her hair?

"Why did you leave us?" she asked quietly. Now it was Marina's turn to look around the garden.

"I didn't love your father," she said.

"Any more?"

"Ever."

She sighed. "Haidee, you have to understand. I was a very pretty but very poor young woman. The Long Winter was terrible on the Islands. At the end of each day, I could barely move my fingers; they were so cold. When your father began to pursue me after a dance I let him because I thought he could make me feel warm. I wanted to bask in warmth. And he took me away and dressed me in the finest clothes but I still didn't feel warm inside; the way I wanted to. I wanted to feel happy."

"You left us because you felt cold," her daughter said slowly. Marina didn't seem to hear her.

"And then the Tisroc came and he smelt of incense and the desert and it was intoxicating! I wanted nothing more than to get away from those horrible, grey lumps of rock that had been my home. When I stepped off the ship with him in Tashbaan, I finally felt happy," she said.

Silence fell in the small garden. Marina glanced around and saw Haidee staring at her with an expression of pure disgust.

"If you had waited only a few more years then you would have seen the Islands in summer," Haidee said in a small voice. Now Marina looked away. Her jaw locked in a pout as Haidee continued, "Your father, do you remember him? He thanks Aslan every morning that he can die with the summer sun on his face."

"And I thank Tash that I never have to go back there," Marina replied dismissively.

"I don't believe I am hearing this," Haidee said. "Tash. _Tash?!_ We are Islanders, we follow Aslan not _Tash!_"

"Tash may be cruel but he rewards the faithful! Aslan abandoned Narnia, do you remember? But Tash stood strong and Calormen never fell to the Witch's winter. Stop being so pious, Haidee, it doesn't suit you," Marina snapped back.

"How would you know what suits me? You haven't known me for twenty years!" Haidee shrieked. She stood and stormed away but Marina followed her.

"But I can see you now and you are just the same! You are still a child clinging to whatever gives you love. First it was me and now it is Aslan and your barbarian king!" she said cruelly.

That was it. Haidee whirled on the spot and faced Marina, her eyes blazing.

"He is not a barbarian!" she snapped. Marina laughed in her face.

"What are you, five and twenty? And here you are in an uncommitted relationship where you could be doing anything. By your age I had had two children," she said, shaking her head. Haidee stepped right up to her and stuck her face an inch away from Marina's.

"And when you were my age, you ran from your family to become another man's whore," she hissed.

Marina slapped her.

She stopped and felt her cheek. She laughed as Marina hurried away in a swirl of silks.

"Twenty years and, for all your incense and silks and exotic airs, you still have palms like every fishwife in Doorn's harbour!" she shouted after her retreating back.

How dare she? How _dare _she?! Haidee screamed and kicked the stone bench. Pain streaked through her foot but she didn't feel it. All she felt was the anger. Her mother, because no matter what she did Marina would always be her mother, was a liar and a coward and she hated her; she hated her so much because she had run from everything and she would never forgive her and she wanted to scream and scream and hit out at the world... oh, what was the point.

Her legs collapsed from underneath her and her heart sank with them because she knew that she still loved her. Her sweet mother who stroked her hair and sung her to sleep. Oh how she wanted to be five again. Five years old, buried under furs blankets with Anya swaddled and gurgling in her cradle nearby, as Marina hummed a lullaby to her.

A slow clap rang through the garden.

"What a show!" Rabadash crowed, stepping into her view. She did not like the way he was leering at her. She felt an urge to tug at the collar of her dress despite its modest cut.

"I brought her along because Father wanted another pair of eyes that he trusted here but I had no idea that you would be here as well," he giggled. "How old were you again?"

"Five," she said flatly. She picked herself up and began to walk away from him. She wanted to get away. She wanted to run and she wanted to hide.

"Why are you leaving?" he called after her. "Come back!"

"I don't want to speak to you!" she said curtly.

"You look just like she did when she arrived at our court!" he continued, jogging after her. "Father still sends for her. He stopped seeing my mother _years _ago but she still trit-trots along to his chambers like a loyal hound."

She didn't turn round.

"Are you listening to me?" he demanded. "I want to tell you about all the half-siblings we share."

His fingers closed upon her shoulder and squeezed. She cried out as he turned her around and held her close.

"Let go of me now or I will scream," she said through gritted teeth. He did so and she stumbled back, almost tripping over the hem of her dress.

"Calm down," he said. Again with that leer; it was very unnerving. "You need not worry, little flower," he grinned, her skin crawling as he used her grandfather's pet name, "my tastes are a lot more _gentle_."

* * *

Edmund sighed and rubbed his thumb against Haidee's shoulder. He was still angry with her. Her behaviour recently had been both atrocious and extremely embarrassing for him. But when she had come to him almost in tears, he had comforted her. He did love her, even if she drove him crazy sometimes.

They were lying together on a lounger with their arms around each other. Her fingers played with the buttons on his jerkin.

"You said she was dead," he told her.

"Actually I didn't. I said she left us and she was sick in the head. Both are truthful," she sniffed. He smiled.

"You should have just told me. I would have understood. What happened?"

She sighed and stopped fiddling. "I was five. The Tisroc was just a Prince, like Rabadash is now, and he came to discuss a new trade agreement between the Islands and Calormen. I always felt like Mother was loving but distant but suddenly she seemed more alive. One morning we woke up and the Calormene delegation had gone, Mother with them."

She looked up at him. "Now what of you? We had a deal remember?"

"You actually remember that? That was years ago!" he laughed. "I don't have those dreams any longer."

"I still want to know," she said. Her fingers resumed twirling his buttons.

"I used to dream about the Witch. I betrayed my siblings when we came here and my actions stayed with me for a long time. I was the traitor but I was forgiven by Aslan. It took me some time to come to terms with it," he said.

She made a non-committal noise. "I guess we both had our hidden skeletons."

She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "What are we doing, Ed? I can't stop thinking about what she said. I don't know a single girl who hadn't married her fellow by the time she was twenty five."

"Well, let's get married then," he said. She looked at him lying back and he shrugged. "We love each other, don't we? Let's show them all and get married."

"Ed... are you sure? That seems like a bit of a split second decision," she said warily.

"I'm not suggesting we elope," he said grumpily. "We'll do it properly; I'll have to speak to Peter and your father and Aslan if he visits. And you and our sisters can amuse yourselves over flowers and bits of lace or whatever else goes into a wedding."

She dug him in the ribs playfully and then lay back down.

"Fine. Let's get married."

* * *

**AN: I considered calling this chapter _Well, that escalated quickly._**


	16. A Nasty Shock for Anya

**Massive thank you has to go to KC Pendragon for the help she gave me with this chapter! I had no direction and I nearly put it on hiatus but she gave me an idea and this is a hundred times better than the shoddy thing I was writing before. So, thank you! :)**

* * *

Anya hummed to herself as she hefted the scrolls across the library. The Council had asked her to dig out some of the old treaties for inspection and updating; a job she loved. It had also become significantly easier since Haidee had left home. Her older sister had got in the way constantly as she moped around waiting for the next letter from the mainland. Anya missed her terribly but it had been rather annoying.

There was a flapping of wings and a dove flew through the Eastern window and landed on the table. She pulled the scroll from its leg and unfurled it as it flew away again.

_Dearest Anya_, she read.

_Edmund proposed! I'm going to be married! The way he proposed was awful. I suppose I'll invent some nonsense about a proposal on the beach at sunset to tell any children we have. I am not going to tell them that he asked me as easily as asking what the weather is like outside._

Anya stopped reading and giggled at that. Since they were small girls, Haidee had simultaneously bored and terrorized her with plans of her dream wedding. With the autocracy only an older sibling possesses, Haidee would march into Anya's rooms with arms laden with winter flowers. They would be threaded through the hair of both girls and then Haidee would produce some ridiculous, yellowing, over-sized piece of lace to pin to one of their heads. Whichever girl was the "bride" would then have to march up and down the halls of their home and the first man they came across would be the "groom". Haidee, as the oldest and bossiest, was thankfully the bride more than Anya. Anya therefore knew almost every detail of what her older sister wanted for a wedding.

A casual proposal was not an amazing beginning.

She started to read again, her fingers twirling the other scroll that had been wrapped inside Haidee's letter.

_Edmund asked me to include a letter from him to Papa. I think it's asking permission or something. I can't see why he would say no but, if he does, forge his signature, would you? I want this so much and nothing is going to stop me from marrying Ed._

_I miss you and I count the days until we can see each other again._

_Your loving sister,_

_Haidee_

She sat back and smiled. About time.

* * *

The mainland was very different from how Haidee described it in her letters. She had made it out to be a vast emptiness that stretched on and on, occasionally with clumps of trees or a river. It felt more to Anya just like a big island.

She had decided to deliver Papa's reply in person. He had said yes, thankfully, and sent Anya away with the annual tribute and instructions keep him informed of the wedding details.

She had left her belongings back at the ship and walked up to Cair Paravel. It was further than she had ever probably walked before but her boots were comfortable and the walk enjoyable. She smiled at the two fauns on duty by the drawbridge of the citadel but jumped when their pikes clanged together and blocked her path.

"And where do you think you are going, lass?" one of them asked, smiling at her kindly.

"Uh... I'm Lady Haidee's sister. I'm here for a visit," she said warily.

"Got any proof, darling? Sorry to ask but we've got some foreign dignitaries staying at the moment and everything is a bit tighter," he replied.

She paused. All her letters were still in her trunk and her trunk was still on the ship. It was supposed to be brought up tomorrow with the tribute. What was she going to do?

"Anya?" a voice called. All three turned and the fauns bowed as the horse and its rider trotted nearer. "Anya, it is you! How splendid!" Lucy said, dismounting and embracing her warmly. The young Queen looped her arm through Anya's and marched her straight past the guards and into the main courtyard of Cair Paravel.

"So, I presume you are here to visit your sister," she said as she swept them into the main building with terrific speed.

"Yes, primarily. I've got some other bits and pieces with me; some bureaucracy from the Council for Peter to look over," Anya told her, trying her hardest not to stare around at the citadel's magnificence with an open mouth and wide eyes.

"Oh, good! Haidee could use some cheering up," Lucy said, an odd little note coming into her voice. Anya looked at her carefully.

"What?" she exclaimed, fear twisting through her stomach. "Why does she need cheering up; what's happened?!"

"Nothing too disastrous... she and Edmund have just been arguing a lot at the moment. Even with becoming betrothed," Lucy explained. "We are currently playing host to a party of Calormenes and it is causing some friction. The Prince is courting Susan and she is going to accompany him back to Calormen for a time with Edmund as an escort and I think he wanted Haidee to go to. She is putting her foot down quite firmly and refusing and they argue about it nearly every evening."

Anya sighed in irritation. "How I wish Haidee had not listened to Papa and his rubbish about Calormen. From what I've read it is a beautiful country and he has her completely turned against it."

Lucy gave her a funny look and a shiver ran down her spine. There was something hidden in the Queen's gaze, like Lucy knew something Anya didn't.

"She seemed really happy in her letters," she added shakily and looked away from Lucy's piercing blue gaze. A wide grin split her face as a familiar figure appeared through a door ahead of them. What on earth was Haidee wearing; it looked like someone had wrapped her repeatedly in red silk scarves!

"By the Lion, Haidee, is that what fashion passes for here?" she called jovially.

She felt Lucy tense next to her as the figure turned towards them. That wasn't her sister, this woman was far too old, but the similarities between her and Haidee and even Anya were frightening. The woman tipped her head, her green eyes sliding over Anya's frame.

"You must be Anya," she said, smiling half-heartedly. "Well, aren't you the perfect mix. Your sister is my little copy but you got my looks and your father's colourings."

"Who are you?" Anya demanded. She began to tremble violently and Lucy laid a hand on hers.

"I'm Marina," the beautiful stranger said. "I'm your mother."

Anya felt like vomiting. She now understood why Haidee ran from things that upset her; all she wanted to do now was bolt for somewhere safe.

Her mother was a taboo subject. Nobody spoke about her; Haidee, Papa, Grandfather, Uncle Alain, no-one! Her mother was _dead!_

"You can't be," she almost whispered.

"I presume you are here to help with this farce of a wedding Haidee is weaving," Marina continued. "Utterly ridiculous, nobody asked _my_ opinion. No doubt I will be able to find a young Tarkaan for you, if you so wish."

Before Anya could respond, Lucy had stormed in with a fiery retort.

"You gave up the right to judge the girls' marriages when you left them behind! You weren't there when Cedric attempted to push a marriage between Haidee and Peter; you get to say nothing about a marriage she is happy with!"

Marina pursed her lips. She curtseyed low and swept away with one withering glance to Lucy and another curious one to Anya and left the young women alone in the corridor.

"In the name of Aslan, I wish she had never left Tashbaan!" Lucy exploded. "Everywhere we go she pops up with these snide comments and side-long glances!"

"Everybody said she was dead," Anya said in a very small voice. "Nobody ever talked about, except to comment on how Haidee was like her when she was being difficult."

Lucy gave her a pitiful look and embraced her again. "I'm sorry. This is an awful way for you to find out," she said. "I'll take you Haidee, I think you need her."

As she was led along corridors, Anya could have sworn she heard shouting. It got louder and louder, two people yelling at each other with barely a pause, until a door ahead blew open and Edmund stalked out with a face of thunder.

"Stay here then!" he snapped over one shoulder and strode off without seeing them.

"Not again," Lucy moaned. "I am sick to death of this. Excuse me while I try to knock some sense into my brother's wooden head."

She followed him; her face and shoulders set with grim determination. Anya approached the door and peered around it. There was her sister. Haidee was sitting on a couch, her head in her hands. She looked up as Anya entered and her face softened completely.

"Oh, Anya," she nearly wept and stood to meet her. But Anya didn't move. She stayed in the doorway, staring her sister down.

"Why did you never tell me that Mother was still alive?" she asked quietly.

"She isn't ," Haidee said shortly.

"Don't lie to me! I just saw her, I spoke with her!"

"No, you spoke with Marina. Our mother is dead, she died a long time ago, but Marina is still alive!"

Anya wanted to scream. "She is still our mother! She carried us, she gave birth to us! How is that not a mother?" she said, forcing herself to remain calm.

"She left us. She didn't want us, Anya," Haidee replied. "You were only a baby and she still left you."

She wanted to fold up right there and then. She had thought that this would be a happy reunion. Her sister was getting married. But somehow this revelation about her mother had spoiled everything. Maybe this is why nobody spoke of her mother; Marina seemed a snide exaggeration of all the worst parts of Haidee's character.

The wedding. She was here for the wedding.

She shook herself and forced a smile onto her face.

"So, congratulations on the engagement!" she said, a tiny catch in her voice. Haidee's shoulders dropped and she looked at Anya with pity. She stood and swept towards her, her arms wide. Anya gratefully collapsed into them and let herself go. She sobbed and sobbed and Haidee held her close, one hand stroking her chestnut curls.

"We aren't getting married for a while yet. Wedding plans can wait," she said.

"If you have any winter flowers then I will personally ensure that you don't make it down the aisle," Anya said thickly into her shoulder.

Haidee chuckled quietly. She was so happy that Anya was here now. As soon as she stopped fighting with Edmund, she could focus on her wedding.


End file.
